
M. 



i-\ I }■ 



Library of Congress. 



UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 



Chap L.-.>i^«2 




^.r^>-.^2^ :Z ^%^C^ 




^^^1> .^L^/^^-^-^^j^ 




• c 



^^ 




THE 



CENTENNIAL OF CASTINE 



AN ACCOUNT OF THE EXERCISES AT THE CELEBRATION 

OF THE ONE HUNDREDTH ANNIVERSARY OF 

THE INCORPORATION OF THE TOWN 



JULY 9bb, 1896 



PUBLISHED AND SOLD FOR THE BENEFIT OF THE TOWN LIBRARY 



CASTINE, MAINE 
1896 



ik.\ 



9 O'OO 



Eiunavinci, Ipiintiiiii, anJ 36inJiiui 

In: 

Ubc '!LaI5csi^c Iprcss, ipoitlant, /lOainc. 






CONTENTS. 



Organization, ......... 7 

Historical Sketch, ........ 9 

The Guests, ......... 12 

The Day's ProgramiME, ....... 13 

The Procession, . . . . . . . . 14 

The Literary Exercises, ....... 15 

The Dinner, ......... 49 

EvENiNc; Incidents, ........ 50 

Letter fr().m J. W. Castine, M. P., . . . . 52 

Display of Antiquities, ....... 55 

Incorporation of the Town, ...... 64 



ILLUSTRATIONS. 



OPP. 
PAGE 



Castine — From the Brooksville side of the Harbor — Frontispiece. 

Card of Invitation, . . . . . . . 12 

Bovs WITH Ancient Fire Engine, . . . . -13 

Marines and Blue-Jackets from U. S. S. "Columbia," . 13 
Ancient Fire Engine, "Hancock," . . . , -14 

Blue-Jackets passing Custom House, . . . . 14 

Triumphal Arch, . . . . . . . . -15 

U. S. S. "Castine," 24 

In Witherle Park, ........ 24 

Dyce's Head, ......... 28 

The William Hutchings House, ...... 30 

The Joseph Perkins House, ...... 30 

The John Perkins House, ....... 34 

The Elisha Dyer House, ...... 34 

Fort George and Dungeon, ...... 38 

Wadsworth's Cove and Blockhouse Head, ... 42 

The Thatcher Avery House, ...... 46 

The Joseph Wescott House, ...... 46 

U. S. S. "Columbia," 50 

Oakum Bay, Castine, ....... 56 

Indian Bar, .......... 62 



CENTENNIAL OF CASTINE. 



THE ORGANIZATION. 

T^ARLY in the j^ear 1894, the citizens of Castine 
began to consider the desirability of marking with 
a celebration the one hundredth anniversary of the 
incorporation of the town under its present name. 
Although the first settlement of the place dates far 
back into the mists of such an antiquity as an Ameri- 
can community might claim for itself, one hundred 
years was all that could be reckoned for the lifetime 
of the comparatively modern town of Castine ; and the 
proposition to celebrate its centennial was regarded 
with favor because, among other considerations, it 
M'ould establish a point for the recurrence of anniver- 
saries yet to come. 

Accordingly, in the warrant issued for the town- 
meeting held in March, 1894, an article was inserted 
providing for consideration of the expedienc\' of cele- 
brating the one hundredth anniversary of the incorpo- 
ration of the town. At that meeting the whole matter, 
after some discussion, was referred to a committee of 
five citizens, who, in conjunction with the Selectmen, 
were to consider the proposition and report at the town- 
meeting to be held in the following ]\Iarch. John F. 
Rea, George H. Witherle, Charles H. Hooper, Dr. E. E. 
Philbrook and C. Fred Jones were appointed to serve 
on the committee; and at the meeting in March, 1895, 
their report, which was in favor of such a celebration. 



8 CENTENNIAL OF CAS TINE. 

was presented to the voters of the town. The report 
was accepted and adopted, and it was agreed that the 
celebration should, among other features, include pub- 
lic exercises to be held on some da}^ to be selected from 
the months of June or July, 1896. 

At the same meeting a committee of citizens was 
appointed, to act in conjunction with the municipal 
authorities, to concert such measures and make such 
preparations for a suitable celebration as might be pos- 
sible and desirable. The committee was as follows : 

Selectmen George A. Wheeler, John P. Shepherd and J. W. 
Perkins, and Messrs. G. W. Perkins, Charles H. Hooper, George H. 
Witherle. E. E. Philbrook, C. Fred Jones, John F. Rea, Alfred F. 
Adams, John N. Gardner, W. S. Payson, Frank S. Perkins, George 
M. Warren and Frank E. Rea. This General Committee was subse- 
quently organized by the choice of Dr. George A. Wheeler (Chair- 
man of the Board of Selectmen), as Chairman, Charles H. Hooper, 
Treasurer, and C. Fred Jones, Secretary. 

Sub-committees were appointed by the General Committee, as 
follows : 

On Tablets or Landmarks. — Noah Brooks, George H. With- 
erle and Alfred F. Adams. 

On Antiquities. — Frank S. Perkins, Thomas E. Hale, John F. 
Rea, Mrs. L. M. Perkins, Mrs. S. T. Noyes, Mrs. Phoebe Whiting, 
George H. Emerson, F. P. Wood, Mr. and Mrs. F. W. Foster, A. K. 
Bolan and E. E. Crockett. 

On Music. — W. G. Sargent, Mrs. J. P. Shepherd, W. M. Law- 
rence, F. A. Douglass, Dr. and Mrs. E. E. Philbrook, Miss Lucy 
Parker and W. A. Walker. 

On Literary Exercises. — George H. Witherle, A. F. Richard- 
son, Noah Brooks, J. W. Dresser, Mrs. W. H. Witherle and Mrs. 
Maria Woodbury. 

On Decorations. — Alfred F. Adams, F. S. Perkins, E. C. Bow- 
den, Jerre Perkins, Charles W. Richardson, E. S. Perkins, W. H. 
Hooper, John M. Vogell and W. G. Sargent. 

On Naval and Marine Display. — George A. Wheeler, George 
M. Warren, J. N. Gardner, E. E. Crockett, Noah Brooks and R. B. 
Brown. 



THE ORGANIZATION. 9 

On Printing. — W. G. Sargent and John P. Shepherd. 

On the Public Dinner. — C. Fred Jones, W. A. Walker, John 
W. Perkins, George Wescott, Frank Hooper, N. P. Noyes and 
A. W. Clark. 

On Invitations. — A. F. Adams, George A. Wheeler and W. G. 
Stevens. 

On Salute and Bell -Ringing. — John P. Shepherd, J. M. 
Vogell, Edward Morey, A. C. Coombs, George Morey and Julian 
Webber. 

On Procession. — E. F. Davis, Charles H. Hooper and George 
L. Weeks. 

On Transportation. — George M. Warren, J. M. Vogell, Aaron 
Chamberlain and Charles Smalledge. 

On Amusements. — C. H. Hooper, Thomas E. Hale, Jr., Walter 
S. Brown, Duncan Dunbar, Charles E. McCluskey, Walter Bartram, 
Thomas Perkins, E. S. Perkins and Wilbur Ward. 

On Fireworks. — A. M. Devereux, John P. Whiting, J. Millard 
Dennett, John S. Sawyer, Jr., and Frank V. Grindle. 

On Evening Reception. — Mr. and Mrs. Frank E. Lewis, Mr_ 
and Mrs. J. W. Dresser, Mr. and Mrs. John P. Shepherd and Mr. 
and Mrs. Frank E. Rea. 

On Ball. — ^W. G. Stevens, Bennett Perkins, W. S. Payson and 
W. S. Macomber. 

On Bureau of Infor.aiation. — W. S. Payson, Guy Sargent, 
Ernest M. Hatch, Clarence E. Wheeler, Alfred Rafnell, Leo Herrick, 
Nelson Woodbury, Russell Wescott, Otis H. Parker, Willis Ricker 
and Harry Macomber. 

On Reception of Invi ted Guests. — The General Committee. 

Committee of Audit. — George M. Warren, George H. Witherle 
and C. Fred Jones. 

THE HISTORY OF THE TOWN. 

The act incorporating the town of Castine was 
passed February 8th, 1796; but the observance of that 
anniversary being undesirable in the usually inclement 
month of February, July 9th, 1896, was fixed upon as 



10 CENTENNIAL OF CASTINE. 

tlie date for the celebration. As a matter of history, 
the date of the original occupation of Castine, other- 
wise the peninsula of Pentagoet, far precedes that of 
the settlement of any of the localities in this region of 
the Maine coast. The Plymouth Colony were the first 
whose activities here are recorded in history. Under 
the direction of Isaac Allerton, the Colony established 
a trading-post here in 1629; they held the place until 
1632, when the French from Nova Scotia drove out the 
traders and settlers, in the temporary absence of All- 
erton. After some years of desultory warfare, the 
Knglishmen were finally expelled in 1635, and the 
place, then recognized as Pentagoet, came into full 
possession of the French, who then reigned supreme 
in Acadie. 

Internecine quarrels disturbed the peace of the 
region for many years after this; and in 1654 the 
English again took possession, Cromwell being then 
Lord Protector. Wars between the French and English 
finally terminated in 1667 by the treaty of Breda under 
which Pentagoet, along with all the territory Ijnng 
eastward thereof, was ceded to the French. About this 
time the Baron de St. Castin, a French officer who had 
been engaged in the Canadian military service of his 
country, came hither, and marrying a daughter of 
Modocawando, a powerful sachem, established himself 
as a trader ; Castin lived in a style somewhat baronial 
and was greatly influential during his stay. He was 
occasionally involved in wars with the English who 
still harassed the French who held the coasts of Maine 
adjacent to the English. The Baron sailed for France 
in 1701 and did not return; but his two sons remained 
and occasional mention of them is made in the annals 
of the time. 



THE ORGANIZATION. 11 

From 1728 to 1761 there is a blank in the history 
of the place , but in the j^ear last-named the English- 
Americans were dwellers here. About this time and 
subsequentl}^, the name of the locality was variously 
given as Majabagaduce, Bagaduce, Biguj^duce, Bigi- 
widuce, and so on. In 1779, the American Revo- 
lution being in progress, the inhabitants were mainly 
loyal to the newly proclaimed Republic; the British 
landed in that year and took military possession 
of the peninsula which was formidably fortified, Fort 
George, on the crown of the promontory' on which the 
present town is built, being the key of the position. 
At the conclusion of the treaty of peace, in 1783, the 
British evacuated the place ; and four years later, 
Februar}^ 23d, 1787, the settlement was incorporated 
under the name of Penobscot ; this included the land 
on both sides of the harbor, the peninsula, and a con- 
siderable portion of the mainland. The peninsula and 
a portion of the region now known as Brooksville was 
incorporated as a separate township, known as Castine, 
February 8th, 1796. In 1817 the town of Brooksville 
was incorporated, being set off from Castine, and a 
portion of the mainland, belonging to Penobscot, was 
added to the territor}- of Castine. 

Penobscot celebrated its centennial in 1887 ; Cas- 
tine had its one hundredth birthday in 1896, and that 
of Brooksville will occur in the year 19 17. The far- 
wandering sons and daughters of Castine were hospit- 
ably^ entreated to return to their native town when the 
observance of their Centennial was determined upon ; 
and many of them came to renew the memories and 
refresh the affectionate loyalty in which they have ever 
held the beautiful and historic place which is endeared 
to them by innumerable traditions, associations and 



12 CENTENNIAL OF CAS TINE. 

reminiscences. Prose and poetry have been invoked 
to celebrate the attractions of Castine, and the pencil 
of the artist has striven to do justice to its beauty. 
Strangers sojourning here may well have adapted 
Duncan's words to describe the lovely village, as one 
should say : 

"This Castine has a pleasant seat: the air 
Nimbly and sweetly recommends itself 
Unto our gentle senses.'' 

THE GUESTS. 

The tide of summer visitors this year set in rather 
earlier than usual ; for those who had learned to love 
Castine as a place of restful resort during the warmer 
months made haste to join in the celebration of its one 
hundredth anniversary. Prominent persons through- 
out the state were officially bidden to the festivities; 
and the more important invitations were handsomely 
engrossed on cards, designed and executed for the 
occasion. The notable guests were as follows: United 
States Senator Eugene Hale, Representative Seth L. 
Millikeu, Representative Charles A. Boutelle, Repre- 
sentative Nelson Dingley, Jr., Supreme Court Justice 
A. P. Wiswell, Lieut. O. W. Lowry, U. S. N., repre- 
senting the commander of the "Columbia," and accom- 
panied by nine other officers of the criiiser; Joseph 
Williamson, the historian of Maine, and the town offi- 
cers of Penobscot and Brooksville. Among those who 
were invited and sent letters regretting their inability 
to be present were J. W. Castine, M. P., South 
Australia; Chief Justice John A. Peters, of the State 
Supreme Court; Associate Justices Lucilius A. Emer}^, 
Chas. W. Walton, Enoch Foster, Wm. P. Whitehouse, 
and Sewall C. Strout; Speaker Thomas B. Reed and 








^ 


r^i 










"<•' 


^ 




# 






r^ 


?r 












C 




C> 








,-■ 




-^ 






c 


H' 




:" 


C^ 




,^ '-' 


>> 




^ 






f ^. , 


^ 


-Op- 


•<- 




.JlC' , 1- 


0\ 


P 














c^ 



1l w 



o; 




Marines and Blue-Jackets from U. S. Steamship "Columbia. 




Boys with Ancient Fire-Engine. 



THE ORGANIZATION. 



13 



Senator W. P. Frye; Admiral F. M. Bunce, U. S. N.; 
Brig.-Gens. Selden Connor and W. S. Choate ; Colonels 
T. P. Shaw, F. C. Thayer, W. H. Fogler and E. C. 
Farrington; Major A. G. Rollins; and Collector of the 
Port W. J. Creamer. The Governor of the state, and 
his staff, also sent regrets. Chief Justice Peters, in his 
letter of regret, expressed his admiration for the card 
of invitation which he had received, and said that he 
had deposited it in the collections of the Bangor Histori- 
cal Society as a valuable souvenir; and Justice Emery 
wrote cordially and interestingly of the centennial 
event. Francis Van Wyke, formerly a citizen of Cas- 
tine, and now 94 years of age, residing in Bangor, sent 
a letter conveying to his former fellow-townsmen his 
affectionate remembrance of the dear old place and 
people, and expressing his regret that his advanced 
years and increasing infirmities prevented him from 
revisiting, at this time, the scenes of his youth. 



THE PROGRAMME. 



The date of the celebration having been determined 
upon, the details of the programme were considered 
with carefulness and finally fixed by the following 
features : 



5.00 o'clock A. M. 

8.30 to 10.30 A. M. 
10.30 to 12.00 A. M. 

1.00 to 3.00 p. M. 

2.00 to 6.00 p. M. 

Sunset 

6.45 p. M. . 

8.30 p. M. . 

9.30 to 11.00 p. M. 
10.00 p. M. . 



Bell Ringing and Salutes. 

Procession. 

Literary Exercises. 

Dinner. 

Boat Races and Amusements. 

Salute. 

Concert at Fort George. 

Fireworks in Front of Fort. 

Reception at Normal Hall. 

Ball at the Town Hall. 



14 CENTENNIAL OF CASTINE. 

It was also agreed upon that the collection of 
antiquities, made for the occasion by the committee on 
that branch of the exercises, should be on view at the 
Normal School House, on the 9th and loth of the 
month. It may be remarked here that the collection 
was one of great interest, the variety and value of the 
articles shown proving the scrupulous care and vener- 
ation with which the present generation has preserved 
the relics and reminders of the olden time. A list of 
these objects will be found at the end of this little 
volume. 

The eventful Ninth of July dawned bright and 
beautiful, and the thunder of the early morning salute 
awoke the people of Castine to the enjoyment of a fes- 
tivity of patriotic gratulation. On the previous day the 
magnificent United States cruiser " Columbia," detailed 
from the North Atlantic Squadron by orders from the 
Navy Department, had arrived in the harbor, and, with 
the revenue cutter " Woodbury " and visiting and Cas- 
tine yachts, was now decked out with flags and bunting 
in brilliant array. The waters of the harbor sparkled 
in the summer sun and the luxuriant foliage of the 
shade trees for which Castine is famous was stirred 
by a pleasant breeze. 



THE PROCESSION. 







NE of the most important and attractive features of 
the procession, which formed on the common and 
moved on time, was a detachment of about two hundred 
blue-jackets and marines from the cruiser "Columbia," 
under the command of Lieut. O. W. Lowry, U. S. N. 
The martial bearing and the free, swinging march of 
the men won the plaudits of the crowds of spectators. 




Blue Jackets Passinor Custom House. 







ANCIENT FIRE-ENGINE -HANCOCK.' 



THE LITERARY EXERCISES. 15 

The line was headed by the Belfast Brass Band dis- 
coursing most excellent music. Officers of the man- 
of-war, in full-dress uniform, rode in carriages with 
members of the General Committee, invited guests, 
aged citizens and those who were to participate in the 
literary exercises of the day. An organization of 
young men of Castine birth, resident in other places, 
"The Castine Club," marched in the line with a 
banner of their own and with the Lawrence Cornet 
Band, of Castine; they were greeted with many a 
round of applause along the line of march. Another 
feature of the parade was the ancient fire-engine, "The 
Hancock," dating from 1804, whose tub was designed 
to be filled from leathern buckets provided by the 
householders of the town. This interesting relic was 
escorted by a company of stalwart youths. 

The houses and stores along the route of the pro- 
cession were handsomely and profusely decorated with 
bunting and artistic devices ; the skillful hands of 
professional decorators had been employed for that 
purpose during the preceding days. At the intersec- 
tion of Main and Court Streets was erected a great tri- 
umphal arch of wood covered with evergreen, adorned 
with flags and streamers, and bearing on its front 
towards the port the word which was on the lips of all 
the people — WELCOME. 



THE LITERARY EXERCISES. 

JUST before arriving at the Trinitarian Congrega- 
tional Church on Main Street, the procession was 
disbanded, and the literary exercises in the church 
were begun. A large platform had been built at the 
chancel end of the edifice and seats provided for the 



16 CENTENNIAL OF CAS TINE. 

speakers, t"he clergy, invited guests, the band and the 
Castine Club. After music by the band, the great 
audience, which filled every part of the building, was 
called to order by the Chairman of the General Com- 
mittee, Dr. Geo. A. Wheeler, who spoke as follows: 

ADDREvSvS OF THE CHAIRMAN OF THE CENTENNIAL 
COMMITTEE. 

Ladies and Gentlemen: — We have recorded the say- 
ing of a wise man of old that "there is for everything 
a season and a time for every purpose under the 
heaven; a time to weep and a time to laugh; a time 
for keeping silence and a time for speaking." The 
hour for the latter has now arrived, but I do not pro- 
pose to inflict upon you any length}^ remarks of my 
own, as others are to follow me whose province it is to 
call up before you fond recollections of the past, to 
invite your attention to some of the more important 
and salient events in our history, or to charm your 
ears with the rythmic cadence of verse. I would only 
remind you at this time that there are epochs in the 
history of nations, states, even village communities, 
as well as in the lives of individuals, which serve as 
mile-stones to mark their career. One of these epochs, 
and the most important one of all in the histor}^ of 
this town, we are met to celebrate to-day, and it is well 
for us to make a pause in the headlong pursuit of busi- 
ness or pleasure which characterizes the times and for 
a brief period to take into our consideration some of 
the many events which have marked our course as a 
municipality. 

It is now my pleasant duty, for and in the name of 
the town of Castine, to extend, officially, to its sons 
and daughters who for this occasion have returned to 



THE LITERARY EXERCISES. 17 

the place of their nativity, to the former citizens who 
have once more come back to tread its well-remembered 
streets, to the distinguished guests here assembled, 
and to all "strangers within our gates" — to each and 
all — a generous and hearty welcome. 

I also have the pleasure of introducing to yow as 
president of the day a native of this town personally 
well knowm to a majority of its inhabitants ; known to 
many as "the B03' Emigrant to California," and widely 
known throughout the land not onl}^ for his reportorial 
services during the late w^ar but also for his subsequent 
success in the world of literature. I have the honor 
to introduce to you Mr. Noah Brooks. 

ADDREvSS OF THE PRESIDENT OF THE DAY. 

On being introduced by the Chairman, Mr. Brooks 
said : 

Mr. Chairman, Ladies and Gentlemen: — This honor 
which has been given me is accepted with sincere grat- 
ification. After years of wandering I am once again a 
citizen of my native town, the beautiful town whose 
centennial we celebrate to-day. It is a dream fulfilled 
that, after so long an absence, I am able to unite with 
you in the festivities incident to this anniversar}^ of 
our beloved town's foundation ; and I am actuall}^ here, 
spending the evening of ni}^ days where I spent a happy 
bo3diood. Pardon this personal allusion. 

This is Castine's day. We welcome with real 
pleasure those of our guests to whom the fame of the 
beauties of this region ma}^ have dimly come ; and we 
trust that 3'ou will say with one of old, " The half has 
not been told." To ^^ou we feel like offering an apology 
for our apparent youthfulness. We are really much 
older than we look. Being feminine — for a place is 



18 CENTENNIAL OF CAS TINE. 

alwaj^s " she" — we may claim for our town tlie privi- 
lege of tlie gentler sex and say of her that she is older 
than she looks. For if we date back, as we should, to 
the time when the God-fearing Pilgrims under Isaac 
Allerton hung up their hats here in 1629, this village 
is 267 years old. Don't go away with the notion that 
we are only 100 years of age. 

To our friends from Penobscot and Brooksville we 
need not offer any such apology ; they know us of old. 
We parted from Penobscot 109 j^ears ago. And, as an 
eminent American statesman once said to a British 
audience, "We have always been sorry that we let 3'ou 
go." For you the latch-string still hangs out. And 
Brooksville, named for one of the numerous Brooks 
family — ^John of that ilk, who was Governor of Massa- 
chusetts at that time — parted from us, regretfully, let 
us hope, in 1817 ; and at the same time a part of Penob- 
scot (the better part, let us say) came back to us and 
clung around our off-neck ; for, although we have no 
nigh-neck, we have an off-neck which is very near and 
dear to us ; and it is there we have the region re-ceded 
to us by Penobscot. 

With special warmth of affection do we greet here 
those of our own native townspeople whose hearts, we 
know, have alwaj^s been with us in the homes which 
they have builded in other parts of the American 
Republic. Unwillingly leaving us, because the bounds 
of our little peninsula are too strait for a big popula- 
tion, they have joyfully come home to join in the cele- 
bration of our one hundredth birthday. We are sure 
that in whatever state they have found themselves, 
each one of them has always said of Castine — "My 
heart, uutraveled, fondly turns to thee ! " 

Come, now, let us celebrate ourselves. It is a cause 



THE LITERARY EXERCISES. 19 

for pride and gratitude to us that so many of our old- 
time friends and neighbors have proved in other parts 
of the land the value and the worth of an early train- 
ing in old Castine. The hardy virtues, the manly 
independence and the unflagging industry of the sons 
of Maine have greatly contributed to the glory and 
honor of the American people wherever Maine men 
have been called b}^ enterprise and adventure. In 
everv department of human activity you will find the 
man from Maine — alert, active, hard-working, law- 
abiding; he is the builder of the state, the champion 
of the free school and the defender of the rights of 
man. It is possible that the Government of the United 
States might worry along for a while without Maine 
men ; but such a contingency is remote, and seems 
hardly probable. For in every emergency of the state, 
wherever a leader or a champion of liberty has been 
wanted, a man from Maine has been sent for. In the 
old days, when American commerce whitened every 
sea with its sails, a British publicist complained that 
if it happened that an English voyager landed to take 
possession of a supposedly unclaimed island in remote 
seas, he would find a Bangor schooner bobbing up and 
down among the bushes, or a Portland pedler trading 
jackknives with the unbreeched natives. In like man- 
ner, even now, whether you are camping in the mount- 
ain solitudes of California, shooting alligators in the 
swamps of Florida, or prospecting in the mines of 
Central America, there you will find the law-making, 
law-enforcing Yankee, with a perfect genius for gov- 
ernment — pervasive, all-knowing and ready to preach 
or trade. Is it too much for us to claim our share in 
this moral and material propaganda of the Western 
Continent? Nay ; Maine has always been a leader in 



20 CENTENNIAL OF CAS TINE. 

the crusade ; and Castine has never been behindhand. 
To-da}^, in these historic shades, enriched with 
multitudinous precious memories of the more recent 
past in which our forebears had part, we unite in cele- 
brating the goodness of God who has made us a happy 
and prosperous community, an integral part in one of 
the great nations of the earth. This occasion addresses 
itself not only to the dwellers in Castine, but to every 
patriotic American citizen who claims a home in this 
delightful laud. An anniversary like this may well 
thrill the chords of tender memories of every lover of 
home and countr3\ For each one of us may say: — 

"There is a land of every land the pride, 
Beloved by Heaven o'er all the world beside; 

There is a spot of earth supremely blest, 
A dearer, sweeter spot than all the rest. 

* * * * •* * * 
Where shall that land, that spot of earth, be found ? 
Art thou a man ? a patriot ? Look around, 
And thou shalt find, where'er thy footsteps roam. 
That land thy country and that spot thy home!" 

THE ODE BY REV. WILLIAM BRUNTON. 

After prayer offered by the Rev. John P. Cushman, 
pastor of the Congregational Church, an organ prelude 
was plaj^ed by Willis A. Richer and the audience rose 
and sang to the air of "Auld Lang Syne" the following 
ode, written for the occasion by the Rev. William Brun- 
ton, pastor of the Unitarian Congregational Church: 

" T/ie Bonnie Town of Old Cast inc.''' 
One hundred years have flown away, 

To honor our good town ; 
We all rejoice to greet the day. 

And spread its fair renown; 



THE LITERARY EXERCISES. 21 

For old Castine, dear friends, 

For brave Castine, 
Our happy heart glad greeting sends — 

For old Castine ! 

What beauty all about it lies. 

How beautiful it seems. 
How fair its sea, how blue its skies, 

It is like land of dreams; 
Our bonnie old Castine, 

Our dear Castine ; 
No brighter spot was ever seen — 

Than our Castine ! 

What lovely homes are sheltered here. 

What loving hearts and true; 
To us and ours 'tis always dear, 

Its beauty blest and new ; 
This lovely town, Castine, 

Our old C'astine, 
Of all the bay it is the queen — 

Our dear Castine! 

Our hearts and voices blend as one, 

In honor of Castine ; 
And when a century more is gone, 

We pray she still will queen ; 
This lovely town, Castine, 

Our own Castine, 
No fairer spot was ever seen — 

Than old Castine ! 

SCRIPTURE READING. 

The Rev. U. G. Lyons, pastor of the Methodist 
Episcopal Church, was then introduced, and he read 
the following selections of Scripture: 

Psalm xc, verses i to 6 and 12 to 17: "Lord, thou hast been 
our dwelling place in all generations. 

Before the mountains were brought forth or ever thou hadst 
formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting 
thou art God. 



22 CENTENNIAL OE CASTINE. 

Thou turnest man to destruction, and sayest, Return, ye children 
of men. 

For a thousand years in thy sight are but as yesterday when it 
is past and as a watch in the night. 

Thou carriest them away as with a Hood ; they are as asleep ; in 
the morning they are like grass that groweth up. 

In the morning it flourisheth and groweth up; in the evening it 
is cut down and withereth." 

"So teach us to number our days that we may apply our hearts 
unto wisdom. 

Return, O Lord, how long ! and let it repent thee concerning thy 
servants. 

O satisfy us early with thy mercy, that we may rejoice and be 
glad all our days. 

Make us glad according to the days wherein thou hast afflicted 
us, and the years wherein we have seen evil. 

Let thy work appear unto thy servants and thy glory unto thy 
children. 

And let the beauty of the Lord our God be upon us ; and estab- 
lish thou the work of our hands upon us; yea, the work of our 
hands, establish thou it." 

Hebrews viii, from verse 8 to the end: "Behold the days are 
come, saith the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the 
house of Israel and the house of Judah. 

Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in 
the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land 
of Egypt ; because they continued not in my covenant and I 
regarded them not, saith the Lord. 

For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel 
after those days, saith the Lord; I will put their laws into their 
mind and write them in their hearts, and I will be to them a God 
and they shall be to me a people. 

And they shall not teach every man his neighbor and every man 
his brother saying, Know thou the Lord; for all shall know me from 
the least to the greatest. 

For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins 
and their iniquities will I remember no more. 

In that he saith, a new covenant, he hath made the first old. 
Now that which decayeth and waxeth old is ready to vanish away." 



THE LITERARY EXERCISES. 23 

A vSONG OF PATRIOTISM. 

The President of the Day then introduced Judge 
Warren C. Philbrook, of Waterville, formerly of Cas- 
tine; and that gentleman, who has a famous tenor 
voice, sang a solo from Von Suppe's opera of " Fati- 
nitza," My Native Land, with fine effect and excellent 
method. 

POEM BY MR. JOHN W. DREvSSER. 

The President of the Day then said: "When I 
was a youngster in this my native town, so many years 
ago that I hesitate to say when that was, one of the 
big, bright boys in the "Master's school" that I 
attended was famous for his scholarship and literary 
gifts. How little did we think then that the time 
would ever come when, a grizzled veteran myself, I 
should sit on the Castine Centennial platform with 
him and introduce him to a Castine audience. But 
the time and the man have come ; and it is now my 
pleasure to introduce to you one of 3^our own life-long 
friends and fellow-townsmen, Mr. John W. Dresser, 
who will read you a poem which he has written as a 
part of his contribution to the celebration of this day." 
Mr. Dresser's poem, which was received with great 
applause, was as follows : 

The eventful dawn of a centennial day 

Comes only once, my friends, to you and me. 

May we not ask ourselves in serious mood 

Why are we here ? Of good what have we done ? 

And what more may we do in life's brief span ? 

For the quick passage of a hundred years 

So marks for us the rapid flight of time, 

We're startled as we pause, and think that they 

Who with us lived and loved and thought and planned. 



24 CENTENNIAL OF CAS TINE. 

Were our own friends, perhaps our very sires. 
Come then, go kindly back with me in thought; 
We'll say 'tis seventeen hundred ninety-six ! 
We stand once more on soil made famous long 
By strife and conflict for possession's sake. 
The Baron, with his own peculiar skill, 
Had lately won it from the savage grasp, 
(Macdocawando's daughter now his bride), 
And French and Indian life were joined in one. 
But years rolled on, and great unrest and change, 
And caring not to hold his costly prize. 
He left it open for contention still. 
Meagre indeed the records of the past 
From then to later time, when Britain saw 
The future value of this noted spot; 
Our own fair land now counted it as hers, 
But England fiercely claimed it as her own, 
And sent her fleet with their two hundred guns, 
And men who fought on Europe's battle-fields, 
Under their tried and bravest generals. 
In truth our forces far outnumbered theirs, 
For Massachusetts sent her ablest ships 
With stern resolve to save her own domain 
From Mother England's greedy, grasping hand. 
'Tis sad to say we had no leader there, 
And gloomy hours were given to wild retreat; 
One single day of Hull or John Paul Jones 
Had sent their squadron flying from our shores. 
And so these Englishmen became our guests ; 
Made free with all that came within their sight, 
Grew very merry over our defeat. 
Turned upside down on parlor window-panes 
Our Yankee Doodle they had so long scorned; — 
They learned to know it better later on ! 
They made their beds in our Masonic Hall, 
And when at last their time had come to leave, 
Made choice of emblems and Masonic tools, — 
Things quite unnameable, you know, of course. 
They left the altar, — had no use for that, — 
The dreaded coftin, too, still less they craved ; 




U. S. STEAMSHIP "CASTlNE. 




IN WITHERLE PARK. 



THE LITERARY EXERCISES. 



25 



But to their everlasting shame be't said 

They stole the ancient goat, ne'er since been seen. 

Fort George they seemed to think could not be moved, 

And proudly now it stands on yonder crest, 

To mark for aye their own cheap victory. 

With more than generous thought and toil and care 

Our own good townsman has full well secured 

Its future safe and free from selfish hands, 

And from unwise and rude intrusion, too ; 

Our sons, a hundred generations hence, 

Shall gladly bless him for the thoughtful deed. 

We ask what influence brought our fathers here, — 

What could have led them to this quiet spot? 

The Baron's fort swept all the river's mouth, 

And on the rising hilly crest, Fort George 

Commanded all the scene on every side. 

Exceeding fair it was, so rich the view 

From off those high and new-thrown battlements, 

That quick to one of keen, observant eye 

Might come the thought, — "This, this shall be my home!" 

How more than vain, indeed, the effort now 

To picture the fair scene before us spread. 

Growing upon us with our life-long growth ; 

Mountain and river, far-off" island, bay. 

Sequestered inlet deepening light and shade. 

The safe and spacious harbor, wide and deep. 

Ready for men of action here to bring 

The fruits of commerce to her waiting shores. 

Here, then, in those old far-off years were found 

Men who in choosing well their homes could say, — 

" Here's room for youth and growing enterprise, 

And fairest promise of complete success." 

We call their names ; men of as sterling worth 

As ever trod our old New England soil : — 

The Perkins, largest owners of your lands, 

Witherle and Howe, Bryant, Hale and Gay, 

The Adamses and Crawford, Jarvis, Mead, — 

And soon the tide of sure prosperity 

Came flowing freely to our Castine shores. 

Her port the one exchange for hundred miles 



26 CENTENNIAL OE CASTINE. 

Of all the country round by sea and land. 

And now she builds her ships, proportion large, 

For their entire equipment well supplied. 

The product mainly of their own skilled hands. 

Timber and rope and sail and spar and chain 

Gave many willing hands their daily wage. 

No men who ever trod the quarter-deck 

Of merchant ships, wherever they might sail, 

Stood higher in the great commercial world 

Than these, the old commanders of our fleet, — • 

Howe, Whitney, Perkins, Wescot, Dyer, Gay ; 

No men more safe, more sure, more shrewd than they 

Planned wisely those adventurous voyages 

To foreign shores ; they bought, they sold, they brought 

Old Europe's products to New England's marts ; 

And their own port had often larger part 

Of all their freight, when they were homeward bound. 

The fishermen on all our rock-bound coast 

For more than fifty years knew this the place 

For early needs, or for their full supply. 

Our wharves and all our docks in early spring 

Were often crowded thickly as they lay 

Preparing for the coming outward trip ; 

And then the creaking block and mallet's click 

Told loudly of the busy, healthful life. 

Meanwhile there gathered 'round our firesides here 

Those who in earlier youth had honored well 

The grand old sterling stock from which they sprung. 

Here now was wealth in fullness to supply 

Large store of culture and of wider growth. 

They asked us now for better, higher schools, 

For newer methods, for such large demands 

That all our pupils should at once be called 

To fuller exercise of mental power. 

Then Abbott's patient care and toil and thought 

Brought to us all a rich and great reward ; 

A noble teacher compassed all his wish ; 

We greet hnn here to-day with grateful hearts. 

And then, successful, faithful teachers here 

Were called from us too soon to higher place. 



THE LITERARY EXERCISES. "^"^ 

And thus the praise and well-earned fame we gained 

For love and care of Education's gifts 

Brought us at length our valued Normal School. 

With grateful, thankful hearts we now recall 

The always-faithful ever-watchful care 

Of Dingley and the noble Chamberlain, 

The zealous Fletcher, and the loving man 

Whose quiet ways made many young men strong. 

And may we not rejoice with one to-day 

Who, as he guides it in its daily course, 

Seems to make sure its future worth and growth ? 

To William Mason's early care and thought, 

In the old days when books were few and rare, 

We owe our ever-growing library. 

Happy are we that now his mantle falls 

On one who fills it with most generous grace. 

Our own, our valued townsman, Noah Brooks. 

An old physician claims a grateful word, — ■ 

A strong, historic figure of the past ; 
For all his time he gave, and thought and growth, 
No other service his to yield or grant. 
When life and health were given him in trust. 
How keenly, too, he felt the nation's strife, 
And when Secession's claims were first revealed 
And Sumter's guns called northern men to arms, 
A quick response we gave to Lincoln's call, — 
Our Company's flag the first to leave the state, 
True hearts replied and opened wide the purse, 
And fair hands made the soldiers' wounds to heal. 
No truer, braver men e'er met the foe 
And her long roll-call fills a noble page. 



Sadly reluctant now we turn our thought 

To many years of change, to downward trend ; — 

Men will grow old. Tides rise and then must fall; 

And when at last the topmost mark is reached, 

With earnest striving still we struggle on 

To stem the ebbing current of decay. 

The rapid, quick-timed coming in of steam, 



28 CENTENNIAL OF CAS TINE. 

And then the gradual going out of sail, 

Made sure the shipwreck of prosperity, 

And brought decline to all our seaport towns. 

Men stood appalled and could but sadly ask, — 

What shall become of all that labor claims ? 

What shall supply so large, so great a need, 

Such vital source of all substantial good ? 

But let us not too soon desparing cry; 

Earth, air and sea still hold for us the power 

To win and charm ev'n as in years long past 

Men who in life-long earnestness will strive 

To here create a hundred happy homes. 

Even now we surely find for thankful hearts 

More than we ever thought to cheer us on. 

See where the Porters' lovely mansion stands; 

Though Witham's boulders there so thickly lay, 

We never dreamed they e'er would be disturbed 

Till Gabriel's trump should sound and wake the dead. 

See the Ames acres as they fast increase. 

And show us verdant robes of living green ; 

And Keener's quiet, dainty summer home. 

Where sunny hearts and faces always shine. 

And Witherle Park, now open free to all. 

By ever generous heart and willing hand. 

Another kind of growing wood is found — 

On Dyce's Head — than we had ever thought. 

On stoniest soil Wood somehow seems to take 

The deepest root ! Grow on, grow on, O Wood! 

We'll welcome all the summer birds you bring; 

More of the Littles, please ; we're fond of Wings, 

And all the tasty Pols and lively Burrs ; — 

Perhaps we'd like a few more artists, too. 

And then we see McLaughlin's vine-clad home, 

And feast our eyes on Blake's and Morey's lawns. 

The Wilsons' pleasant, picturesque abode, 

And Fuller, all to happy in his choice, 

Stands proudly overlooking all below. 

Glad voices from Bates' cottage now we hear. 

And Brastow's thoughtful words we all enjoy, 

And last, — Oh, no! not least, — by river bank, 




DYCE'S HEAD. 



THE LITERARY EXERCISES. 29 

The one quaint cottage our friend Bolan planned, 

That more than generous, open-hearted man 

Who takes our hearts by storm with kindly deeds. 

So gladly do we welcome those who come 

To share with us our genial summer suns; 

Not one among them all has ever asked 

For Fashion's claims or for her noise or rout. 

They come for needed rest from toil and care. 

For grateful respite from the city's round, 

Do we not note with pride their quality.'' 

And ever cry as children do for more. 

Our one Centennial day ! Many have come 

To look once more upon the dear old home ; 

They may not grasp the father's loving hand, 

They may not feel the mother's warmer kiss. 

But the old mansion's door stands open wide. 

And brings back all the memories of the past. 

Then let us make more beautiful this ground 

And claim that not one old historic spot 

A vandal hand shall ever mar or spoil, 

For the bright scenes that brought our fathers here 

May lure once more the old-time thrift and growth. 

Still one more tribute now we ask to pay 

To those whose daily thought and word and act 

Gave us the heritage we love and hold; 

As backward now we look upon their lives 

Our words are all too poor to tell their worth. 

For Memory's faithful links are true and strong, 

And bind our hearts to them in loving thought. 

Bravely and well they fought life's battle here, 

And left their deeds to win our grateful praise. 

How strange, how great, how marvelous the change 

Since yonder peaceful hillside gave them rest! 

No more for us the busy shipyard's scene ; 

No more for us the lofty sail is spread ; 

No more by man the hempen thread is spun ; 

No more we hear the blacksmith's hammer ring. 

We talk to-day with all our far-off friends, 

Or visit them at will in foreign lands 

As though they lived near by, just o'er the way; 



30 CENTENNIAL OF CAS TINE. 

We know no limit, set no bounds of ours 

To Man's supreme control of Nature's laws ; 

We ask for light, and other lights are pale 

Before a ray which now we throw at will. 

Even like the lightning's Hash, o'er land and sea ; 

Amazed we look through solid matter now, 

As though we knew it but transparent glass. 

Ask we for heat, — earth's stubborn metals melt, 

Touched by this fervent, all-subduing volt; 

And steam, so long our greatest source of power, 

Gives place to this unseen but mighty force. 

To-day that twinkling spark tells time and space 

To yield the boundless claims they called their own; 

For even life and thought and being seem 

Subservient to that mysterious power 

So drawn from vast Creation's heavenly dome. 



May he who holds it in his mighty hand 
And garners with it all created things. 
So fill our hearts and all our fleeting lives 
With love to God and generous love to man, 
That sweeter far in heavenly homes above 
Shall dawn for us Centennials yet to come. 

MR. GEO. H. WITHERLE'S HIvSTORICAL ADDRESS. 

Introducing tlie orator of the day, after music by 
the orchestra, Mr. Brooks said: "Pardon me if I once 
more revert to a personal reminiscence. It is the priv- 
ilege of old age to be garrulous and retrospective. In 
those earlier years, of which I have already spoken, 
there were in the school, then taught by Mr. S. W. 
Mitchell and by Mr. Chas. A. Spofford, two lads who 
were wont to ' speak pieces ' for the delectation of fellow 
scholars and visitors. They sometimes declaimed such 
dialogues as the quarrel scene from 'Julius Caesar,' 
the colloquy between Hamlet and Homtio, or that 



f?^ 



j:;.i%g 



■■«k 



■Nil 



L 



m 





1^!^^ 



The JOSEPH PERKINS HOUSE, built 179! 




The WILLIAM HUTCHINGS HOUSE, date unknown. 

William Hutchings, ai the time of his death in 1866, was the last survivor, but one, of the soldiers 
of the American Revolution. He was born in York, Me., in 1764; his father removed to Majabagaduce 
in 1768; he enlisted in the Army of the Revolution in 1781; he died in his own house, which is in 
Penobscot, about six miles from Castine. 



THE LITERARY EXERCISES. 31 

between Percy and Doilglas in ' Percj^'s Masque,' mak- 
ing the old woods by the Block House ring when they 
rehearsed their parts before their public appearance. 
It is a strange mutation of life that has brought one 
of these boj^s, after years of absence from his beloved 
birthplace, to introduce the other, who has alwa3^s been 
a resident among you, to a Castine audience on a day 
of Centennial celebration. Yet so it has come to pass, 
and with real pleasure, although with diffidence, I pre- 
sent to you Mr. George H. Witherle, who will now 
address 3'ou." Mr. Witherle was cordially greeted by 
the audience and spoke as follows : 

An old town with a history. Such is Castine whose 
centennial we celebrate to-day. Not specially old as a 
separate municipality, for Maine has more than five 
score towns whose incorporation dates further back 
than a hundred j^ears. But few of them have tradi- 
tions and records of the past like ours, running so 
nearly to the very beginnings of New England, so full 
of stirring and romantic interest, so worthy of remem- 
brance and narration. 

Most of you are doubtless familiar with the con- 
ception of the marvelous possibilities growing out of 
the theory of the endless transmission of every wave 
of light through infinite space. A being whose eyes 
w^ere endowed with infinite telescopic power and with a 
capacity of motion vastly exceeding that of light itself, 
could leave the earth, outstrip the rapid raj^s, see in 
reverse order all that has passed on our globe, and 
reach at length a distance where onlj^ the formless 
void and darkness on the face of the deep would meet 
his gaze. And while accurate thinking discloses many 
difficulties in the way of clear and perfect vision of all 
the world's past scenes, even by such a being, yet 



32 CENTENNIAL OF CAS TINE. 

enough remains to authorize the use of the conception 
in efforts of romance or imagination, even of that 
soberer and more matter-of-fact imagination whose aid 
must always be summoned on an occasion like this. 
To give new facts of history, or even a compendious 
abstract of the alread}^ known, is not our purpose, but 
to present a few brief and incomplete pictures, to take 
hurried glimpses by the way, to explain, to comment, 
to suggest. Thus we will use the grand idea referred 
to as an instrument to aid in recalling some fragments 
of the history of our town, though only in the imper- 
fect manner in which all instruments are employed by 
unskilled and unpracticed hands. And with these 
imagined powers we will start on our outward and 
backward journey. 

The present fades, familiar surroundings vanish, 
we have bewildering glances at strange forms and 
faces in our dizzy flight. Now even the land and sea 
are hidden. For the tremendous ice sheet covers all 
the region, overwhelms the summit of Katahdin, buries 
deep the Camden and Mount Desert Hills, fills all our 
inland waters and ends in mighty cliffs, giviug birth 
to gigantic icebergs, far out in the gulf of Maine. 
The summer sun shines down on its dazzliug surface, 
but no summer sights are there, no life save its slow, 
crushing, irresistible movement. We have peuetrated, 
perhaps, too far into the depths of space and time, and 
will return with diminished, though still unimagin- 
able, speed. 

The frost of ages is passing away. We look down 
upon a soaked and draggled earth, bare and worn, yet 
one upon which, with minor differences, we still recog- 
nize the present form and outline of hill and valley, 
inlet and bay. Slowly or swiftly, as we time our 



THE LITERARY EXERCISES. 33 

homeward flight, grasses and shrubs clothe the soil, 
flowers bloom, trees spring up, birds rest on their 
branches and dot the air in their flight, wild beasts 
are roaming through the forests and over shore and 
upland. Among them man appears. 

Centuries upon centuries glide away before us, 
unnumbered seasons run their course. Pause for a 
moment and consider the aspect of a July day here a 
thousand years ago. Main and island are overspread 
with woods, such as we call primeval, clothed with the 
varied greens of a diversified growth. Within, we find 
broad spaces free from underbrush, 

" Where are mossy carpets better 
Than the Persian weaves," 

where the trees rise in majestic columns worthy of 
God's first temples and through each " branch enwoven 
skylight " a dim, religious liglit sifts down and spreads 
around, such as never glorified an old cathedral. Yet, 
as a whole, the interior is dark, damp and gloomy, full 
of decayed and prostrate trunks, abounding in wind- 
falls and impenetrable thickets, among which, now and 
then, an Indian trail winds its obscure way. Tracks 
of great forest fires may deform the landscape, of 
sooty blackness, if recent, bleached white and ghastly 
if of older date. Small clearings may relieve it, giving 
light and air to accustomed camping places, or satisfy- 
ing the needs of the rude and scanty aboriginal agri- 
culture. No white sail reflects the sunshine, no swift 
steamer disturbs the waters. They are only rippled 
by the paddle and the birch canoe, whose owners, not 
unlikely, are among our earliest summer visitors, escap- 
ing from the hot interior to enjoy the cool breezes of 
the bay, and the feasts of clams and other products of 



34 CENTENNIAL OE CAS TINE. 

the shore and salt water, whose remnants, in the 
deposits of shells and bones along our beaches, still 
remind us of their existence. 

It may be hard to picture clearl}^ this outward scene. 
How much farther removed from our consciousness the 
mental state of these children of the forest, so shut off 
from all connection with the great outside world, or 
knowledge of it, so devoid of the thoughts and inter- 
ests which fill our lives. 

A hundred years later, the Northmen first tread the 
soil of New England. Did the}^ penetrate our inlets 
or land on our shores ? Should we see on the waters 
around us the vessel bearing to Vinland, Thorfinn 
and Gudrida, parents of the first white American, or 
Thorhall, the hunter, on his perilous exploring expedi- 
tion? Little doubt that some of those hardy wanderers 
would come within the circle of our gaze, but they 
pass and leave no certain sign. 

At last Columbus gives a new world to the old. 
But the narratives of the sixteenth century supply little 
positive knowledge of the navigators who may have 
visited Maine's eastern coast, and not until the seven- 
teenth commences do we begin to emerge from the 
mists of inference, tradition and unreliable statement, 
to find authentic records. These may enable us, after 
vainl}^ scrutinizing unknown voyagers, to recognize 
Champlain, in his little vessel, sailing from Port Royal 
now Annapolis, Nova Scotia, first giving names to Mt. 
Desert and Isle an Haut, passing up the bay in full 
view of our peninsula and ascending the Penobscot to 
the site of Bangor. 

How interesting would be a clear vision of the next 
one hundred years. How the tangled skein of events 
might be unravelled and their dim course be made 



^fw 






^^^^j^gjgt- 



Mi'-^'. »'• '•■"•>■'•' 




The JOHN PERKINS HOUSE, built about 1765. 







The ELISHA DYER HOUSE, built about 1 8u0. 



THE LITERARY EXERCISES. 35 

distinct. Rough and stalwart actors appear on the 
scene, their lives full of intrigue and adventure, toil, 
strife and danger, seeking by trading or raiding, b}^ 
fair means or foul, to promote their own private inter- 
ests and the supremac}- of France or England. 

First, in this spot where our gaze is centeied we 
may see temporary French occupants; next, about 
1629, the establishment of the Pilgrim and Puritan 
traders from ]\Iassachusetts, with its var3nng fortunes, 
its plunder by a French vessel, its seizure by D' Aul- 
ney in 1635, the appearance off the harbor of the 
redoubtable Miles Standish, accompanied by an armed 
ship, intent upon recapture, but foiled by the haste of 
Girling, her captain, the smoke of who^e guns is man- 
ifest as he heedlessly burns all his powder and fires 
away all his shot, at so long a range as to be harmless 
to his eneni3\ 

Then comes the long struggle between D' Aulney 
and his French rival, La Tour. Scenes of trade and 
strife are relieved b^^ the milder vision of Friar Leo of 
Paris conducting the religious exercises at the foun- 
dation of the chapel in honor of our Lady of Holy 
Hope and engraving on the copper sheet the rough 
commemorative inscription so strangely preserved for 
almost two centuries and a half. D' Aulney's death 
scene and the marriage ceremony of his widow with 
his old-time rival now flit before us, and after a few 
more years the martial figure of Castine appears, in 
all the vigor of early manhood. 

Would that power of thought and charm of lan- 
guage might be given to treat that adventurous life as 
a gifted pen might treat it, and bring it before us as 
vividly to-day as the penetrating eyes we are imagining 
might see it. A strange mixture indeed was the life of 



36 CENTENNIAL OE CAS TINE. 

many so-called gentlemen of the mediaeval sort, who 
scorned avocations which our democratic ideas recog- 
nize as among the worthiest, while they easily adapted 
themselves to savage associations and manners from 
which we should shrink. 

We behold him, when scarceh^ past the age of boy- 
hood, leaving his home among the Pyrenees, fighting 
against the Turks in aid of the Emperor of Germany, 
and later guarding Canadian settlements against Indian 
outbreaks. Then, in 1667, when France made peace 
with the tribes and the regiment of which he had 
been a subordinate officer was disbanded, he journeys 
through the woods from Quebec to the spot which now 
bears his name. The description of the old fort here, 
drawn up three years afterwards, when Acadia was 
formerly transferred b}^ England to France, — the can- 
non, magazine, chapel, dwellings and other buildings, 
the well, the garden of fruit trees near b}^, — even this 
abbreviated catalogue ma}^ aid us in realizing some of 
his life's surroundings. 

This fort is the defence of the harbor, the point of 
attack of every enemy, whether of the two Dutch 
raiders, who forcibly captured it, or of the hated 
Andros in the frigate Rose, before whom its occupants 
retired without resistance. Here often comes the brave 
and sagacious Modocawando, here lives his dusky 
daughter, over idealized, doubtless, by the poet, but 
not improbably endowed with man}- wild and natural 
charms. 

Here the Romish Priest always finds welcome and 
shelter, with sympathy and aid in the exercise of his 
calling. Here the Indian flocks for trade, or rendez- 
vous for war, — specially do we note the gathering and 
departure of the canoe fleets transporting the Indian 



THE LITERARY EXERCISES. 37 

contingents, sharing in the capture of Fort Loyal at 
Falmouth in 1690 and of Pemaquid in 1696. 

Finally, on some day not far removed from the 
beginning of a new century, he who to our eyes has so 
long been the central figure treads for the last time the 
soil of Pentagoet, leaves his children and the Indian 
associates over whom his influence had been so great, 
and departs for his native France. 

"In the harsh outlines of his face 
Passion and sin have left their trace. 
Yet, save worn brow and thin gray hair, 
No signs of weary age are there. 

His step is firm, his eye is keen. 
Nor years in broil and battle spent, 
Nor toil, nor wounds, nor pain have bent 

The lordly frame of old Castine." 

For an uncertain period, Anselm, the elder son, 
makes headquarters here. He retains his father's influ- 
ence with the Indians, serves gallantly in three sieges 
of Port Ro^^al by Provincial forces, and receives a com- 
mission as lieutenant in the French army. The record 
of his marriage to the daughter of a French officer is 
preserved in Nova Scotia; as also of two sisters to 
French gentlemen, one the grandson of La Tour and 
D'Aulney's widow. 

(Jn one occasion he is taken by strategem from his 
residence and carried to Boston, a prisoner, charged 
with offenses of a hostile sort, but after five months' 
confinement, a thorough investigation by the com- 
mittee of the general court and in accordance with pub- 
lic sentiment, he is discharged. Of Joseph Dabadis, 
a younger brother, scattered records remain, specially 
a letter addressed by him to the lieutenant-governor of 
Massachusetts, claiming compensation for a small 



38 CENTENNIAL OF CASTINE. 

vessel taken from liim near Naskeag Point. All, how- 
ever, fade out from written history and here again our 
far-seeing eyes might afford undreamed-of knowledge. 
Faint surmises, indefinite traditions about squatters in 
this neighborhood, occupants of the buildings at Fort 
Pentagoet and children born there, might thus c(»me 
into the realm of fact. 

We should surely note the expedition of 1759, 
which erected the works at Fort Point, and Governor 
Pownal with twenty men sailing across the bay one 
afternoon, in the sloop Massachusetts, visiting the 
abandoned fort and settlements, "hoisting the king's 
flag and drinking the king's health," a sort of picnic, 
apparently, and should doubtless agree with him " that, 
from the site and nature of the houses and remnants 
of the fields and orchards, it had once been a pleasant 
habitation." 

With the close of the French and Indian War, the 
building of Fort Pownal and the granting of town- 
ships for settlements by Massachusetts, "the old order 
changes, giving place to new." Settlers flock in, this 
peninsula, divided into eight lots, being apparently 
taken up in 1761, Trott's Ledge and Dyce's Head still 
preserving the names of the occupants of each extrem- 
ity. If we love the marvelous we may obtain a glimpse 
of the witch wife, next neighbor to the latter, who often 
torments him in the form of a black cat with fiery 
eyes, as she limps home, scorched and crippled, when, 
after one uncommonly trying visitation, he seizes 
her and throws her into a bed of coals. Hunting, 
fishing, lumbering, clearing, tilling — the occupations 
of pioneers, but of men who come to subdue the wil- 
derness — men who are making homes and laying the 
foundations of a state, now prevail. Intelligence from 





:^l 






. >i^ 


^S 


ft^' .• % 




'^^.J^i;^ 




tV^ 




'IWC^^'raT 


^Ot " 






'^i^- 


te 




-~^*--: 

' .5** 










THE LITERARY EXERCISES. 39 

without comes mostly by water and at irregular inter- 
vals. Imperfect reports sift in of the stirring events 
preceding the Revolution and the echoes of the " shot 
heard round the world" doubtless are resounding here. 
Startling rumors come of intended British military 
occupation. At this time more than loo lots have 
been taken up in Plantation No. 3, or Majabagaduce, 

One June morning in 1779, William Hutchings — 
the Revolutionar}^ soldier to be — and an uncle, fishing 
near the Fox Islands, sight the expected fleet and with 
the exclamation from the latter, "There comes the 
devils," start for their homes up the Bagaduce, stop- 
ping on the way to witness the first hostile landing 
and reconnoissance at the foot of what is now Main 
Street. Then follow a few busy weeks, the felling of 
trees, the laying out of Fort George, the forced labor 
of the inhabitants from all around, the hasty attempts 
to complete or strengthen the defences, as the certainty 
of an attack in the near future, b}' the Massachusetts 
forces, becomes manifest, and on July 24th the Penob- 
scot expedition, the most numerous, though not the 
most powerful squadron which ever floated on our 
waters, about forty vessels, enters the bay. 

To manv of us it is an old story — yet how eagerly 
do we scan its visible presentment. The unsuccessful 
attempts of Lovell to land on this peninsula, the 
capture of Nautilus Island, the driving of the British 
sloops of war, Albany, North and Nautilus, from their 
anchorage near its entrance further up the harbor, 
the successful landing, in the earl}^ morning of the 
28th, under cover of the guns of the shipping, Trask, 
the young musician, pla3'ing on his fife behind the 
rock, the crashing of the round and chain shot among 
the woods on the steep western bank, the hurried flight 



40 CENTENNIAL OF CAS TINE. 

of the larger part of the British defenders, the firmer 
stand and the deliberate retreat of John Moore, the 
young lieutenant, the only officer who did not leave 
his post too soon. "A good deal startled," he admits, 
"at the first fire, but this went off gradually after- 
wards"; the intrenching by the Americans on the 
ridge commanding Fort George, the attempts to sur- 
round it by batteries, the cannonading, the skirmish- 
ing, the loss of opportunities, the divided counsels, are 
not all these things written in the journals of eye- 
witnesses and the ]\Iassachusetts archives? Also the 
coming of the powerful British relief squadron from 
New York, headed by the Raisonable Sixty-four (the 
ship in which England's greatest admiral, Horatio 
Nelson, first saw sea service), the disgraceful and 
panic-stricken retreat, "four ships pursuing seventeen 
sail of armed vessels, transports on fire, men-of-war 
blowing up," all either burnt, sunk or captured — the 
troops and sailors struggling back to safety through 
the woods. 

And so Majabagaduce settles down quietly under 
British rule, a quiet only ruffled by such events as the 
cutting out of an armed brig by Little, by the skillfully 
planned and daring escape of W'adsworth and Burton 
from Fort George on a dark and stormy June night, 
and by the entrance into the bay for reconnoitering pur- 
poses of the French frigate Hermione. The defences 
are increased and strengthened, most of the patriots, 
with their families, leave the neighborhood, and natur- 
ally there is a collection of tories in their place, a fact 
which has brought unjust and unreasonable criticism 
and aspersion on our patriotic record. 

To this period belongs the scheme of creating the 
Province of New Ireland, east of the Penobscot with 



THE LITERARY EXERCISES. 41 

Bagaduce for its capital — a province where the Church 
of England is to be established, whose political insti- 
tutions are to be of a very aristocratic sort, and the 
freer republican spirit of the rest of New England 
shut out. Had this been done, Castine, with a different 
name and a larger population, would now be under the 
British flag, and few of us who are present would have 
been gathered here to-day. But the firmness of John 
Adams, when the treaty is made, saves Eastern Maine 
to the Union. 

And now again our space-penetrating eyes would 
disclose secrets of unmeasured interest. We only 
know that some day in January, 1784, weeks after New 
York passed under American control, the last forces 
embark and the last ships sail away, the last British 
flag is lowered and the last sign of dependence upon 
England disappears from our Atlantic coast ; many 
residents who adhere to the royal government, several 
hundred in all, leaving at or before the evacuation and 
settling in St. Andrews or vicinity. About six hun- 
dred inhabitants remain in Majabagaduce. On this 
peninsula but thirty-eight, with five two-story and 
thirt3'-two one-story houses, two wharves and two 
stores upon them, A great change from the crowded 
garrison life and the naval bustle of years. But the 
exiled patriots soon return, emigration again flows in, 
empty houses are filled. In 1787 Majab?.gaduce is 
incorporated as the town of Penobscot ; her residents 
first enjo}^ the privileges of municipal government and 
exercise the rights of freemen in voting for state and 
national officers. But the town is too extensive and 
cumbrous and its interests are too diversified long to 
remain a unit. Its religious interests are divided 
earlier than its political ones and after much discus- 



42 CENTENNIAL OF CAS TINE. 

sion tlie old churcli on the Common is built in 1790, 
the territory on which its supporters reside constitut- 
ing the second parish of Penobscot, afterwards the first 
of Castine. 

On June 6, 1795, the petition of ]\Iark Hatch and 
eighty-seven others of the second parish, for a separa- 
tion from the town, is presented in the Massachusetts 
House of Representatives, by whom does not appear, 
and in accordance with the report of the committee on 
incorporation of towns, it is voted that the petitioners 
be heard on the third Wednesdaj^ of the next session. 
After this hearing leave is granted the petitioners to 
bring in a bill. This passes both Houses February 8th, 
1796, and is signed by Governor Samuel iVdams Febru- 
ary 13th. No name for the new town is inserted in the 
original petition and no certain knowledge exists in 
regard to the person whose good taste suggested that 
which we bear, so appropriate and distinctive. The 
first town-meeting is held April 4, 1796, thus complet- 
ing the event whose centennial we now celebrate. But 
the men, even of this latter da}-, have all departed, 
though we have known those who have seen and known 
them, and it is still at an unimaginable distance that 
their forms could meet our eyes, that we could see 
them in their daily avocations, in their Sunday wor- 
ship, in their town-meetings, discussing their disputes 
with the proprietors of Township No. 3, and passing 
resolves against the embargo, or gathered in the old 
church listening to the Fourth of July address by 
Hon. Isaac Parker, M. C, or to the funeral discourse 
upon the death of Washington by Rev. William Mason, 
made more impressive by the sombre drapery of its 
walls and the mystic services of the Masonic order, or 
reading the account of these services in the Castine 



K^?^ 




'11T^ 



THE LITERARY EXERCISES. 43 

journal^ the first newspaper east of the Penobscot, of 
which only one worn and imperfect file now remains. 
But we must not linger by the way. 

The irritation produced by England's prolonged 
aggressions has culminated in war and the air is rife 
with new rumors of invasion. The officer commanding- 
the small garrison at Fort Madison agrees to give 
warning of the appearance of a hostile fleet by firing 
three guns with a short interval between. Early in 
the morning of September ist, 1814, a puff of smoke 
is seen, and a loud report rouses every slumberer. A 
second brings all to their feet, and the echoes of the 
third have hardl}^ died awaj^ before the whole popula- 
tion are in the streets, hurrying to outlooks on the hill. 
There, stretching across the bay, distinct in the clear, 
calm autumn twilight, slowly drifting with the tide, is 
the formidable squadron — a sight such as will never 
be seen on earth again — the ships of the line. Dragon, 
Bulwark and Spencer, frigates, sloops of war and 
transports, with more than three thousand men. The 
south wind breezes up and the fleet makes more rapid 
progress. Fort Madison fires one useless shot, its 
little garrison retreats and its magazine explodes. 
Parson Mason and the selectmen row out with a flag 
of truce and surrender the town. The fleet anchors on 
the western shore. A detachment of troops makes a 
rapid landing at Wads worth's Cove and a quick march 
up the hill. Again, and let us hope for the last time, 
the flag of St. George floats over the soil of Castine. 

The next few months are the busiest and most 
crowded in our history. Legitimate trade is extensive 
and profitable, smuggling is rampant, occupation abun- 
dant, social life gay, personal property, except in ship- 
ping, secure. The system of fortification is elaborated. 



44 CENTENNIAL OF CASTINE. 

All the trees on the unsettled part of the peninsula 
are cut down ; officers are quartered on the inhabitants, 
some pleasant and gentlemanly, others rough and 
brutal. But a strict militar}^ rule is galling at best. 
One, who was a young man then, used to tell of some 
trying experiences in evading sentinels, while return- 
ing late at night from visits to his lady love. All 
hearts are joj^ful when peace brings freedom and quiet, 
and faces as well as houses are illuminated when the 
fleet sails away and the stars and stripes are hoisted. 

And now we approach scenes within the memory of 
the living. Fort George, for a while, is occupied by 
United States troops. 1817 brings the incorporation 
of Brooksville and the adjustment of the boundaries 
of Castine to their present limits, with onl}^ one later 
addition, the Buker farm. The years have much of 
personal and local interest, for which we cannot dela3\ 
We note, however, in the thirties, the long-regretted 
removal of the courts, inevitable after the cutting 
down of the limits of Hancock Count}^, bravel}- fought 
against, finally brought to pass, it is perhaps allowable 
to say now all feeling is over, by some rather sharp 
practice of our Ellsworth friends. In this decade, 
also, comes the bloodless Aroostook War and the ser- 
vice of a portion of our Castine Company, the Hancock 
Guards, in the winter campaign near our northern 
boundary. 

Far different the demands on the men of '61, when 
the guns of Sumter resound not less loudl}^ or widely 
than the shot from Concord in 1775. Castine responds 
promptly and bravely. Our still distant eyes behold 
the crowded farewell meeting to Company B, Second 
Maine, the first regiment in the field from our state, 
held in the old church on the evening of April 26th, 



THE LITERARY EXERCISES. 46 

and our streets thronged in the t^\ilight of the next 
morning to give them last hand shakes and part- 
ing words. We see other war meetings, other depart- 
ures for the front ; we scan eager and anxious faces, 
saddened or jo3'ful, as varying reports come from the 
seat of war. We witness the grand outburst of delight 
when Lee surrenders, and the smoke of the cannon 
thundering around the bay — as never since the con- 
flicts of the Revolution — the passionate grief at the 
death of our beloved Lincoln, the sad memorial ser- 
vices, the minute guns on his funeral day. Of the 
true and loyal men, living or dead, who by land and 
sea, from Pennsj^lvania to Louisiana, from disastrous 
Bull Run to glorious Appomattox, bravely stand for 
the honor of our town and the integrit}^ of the union, 
how gladly would we speak. We cannot name them 
all. We will specif}^ none. We know them. We will 
remember them. 

Weary with gazing and wandering in the past, we 
will close our eyes to the pictures which the last thirt}^ 
years unfold. We open them again in the present, on 
this centennial da}^, in this gathering, amid this Jul}' 
sunshine, with guests whom we joyfully welcome, with 
a ship floating on the waters of our harbor of which 
the men of a hundred years ago never could have 
dreamed, before which all the combined fleets of the 
past could hardly make a longer stand than IModoca- 
wando's squadron of birch canoes. 

Friends of my earlier days, scattered among this 
audience, you for whom 

"The same horizon bends 
Above the silver sprinkled hair, 
That bore the light of morning skies 
To childhood's wonder waiting eyes," 



46 CENTENNIAL OF CAS TINE. 

whether like 3'Ourself, Mr. President, returned to 3 our 
boyhood's home after bus}^ ^^ears among men of 
thought and men of action, or, like others, life-time 
residents in our quiet town, j^ou need no superhuman 
powers of speed or sight to picture the events of half 
a centur}'. As memory does its faithful work, how 
much, long since gone into the realm of history, stands 
clearly out in our mental vision, but more clearly still, 
in a different sphere from history. 

" What greetings smile, what farewells wave, 
What loved ones enter and depart, 
The good, the beautiful, the brave, 

The heaven lent treasures of the heart." 

For all that we have received, the Lord make us 
thankful, make us ready to discern the workings of his 
kindly Providence, in whatever befalls the home, the 
town, the nation, and enable us to say from our hearts, 
that life has been, and still is, well worth living. But 
if we have longings and regrets for the past, or fears 
for the future, let us put them aside to-day. For the 
one let us cherish reverent and tender memories, for 
the other inspiring hope. Hope, that in the new cent- 
ury upon which we are entering, we shall strive to 
perform more worthil}^ one grand function of the New 
England town, to be a school of pure democracy — no 
less an effective school if often full of turbulent scholars 
— hope that though we may never attain wealth, high 
culture or lofty intellect, we may always abound in 
intelligent, thoughtful, earnest men and women. As 
individuals we soon shall slumber among earth's for- 
gotten millions, forgotten b}^ the great world, but not 
by Him who careth for the grass of the field and with- 
out whom no sparrow falleth. 

May we humbly trust that with the imperfections 
of our lives some good influences have been mingled, 




The THATCHER AVERY HOUSE, built about I lib, by Capt. John Perkins. 




The JOSEPH WESCOTT HOUSE, built about 1800. 



THE LITERARY EXERCISES. 47 

whose effects shall run through the coming century, 
and even when it ends shall still quicken the hearts of 
those, who then fill the places where we stand to-da}^, 
with regard for our noblest ideals. 

POEM BY MRS. SANFORD B. DOLE. 

The presiding officer then said: "A valued contri- 
bution to these exercises comes to us from the far-off 
isles of the Pacific. Airs. Dole, wafe of Hon. Sanford 
B. Dole, President of the Hawaiian Republic, is one of 
the fair daughters of Castine; and she has written for 
the Centennial celebration of her native town a poem 
which she would perhaps have read to us; but she is 
not here, and there is no telephonic communication 
with Honolulu. But we shall be favored with a read- 
ing of Mrs. Dole's beautiful l3a"ic from the lips of her 
niece and namesake. Miss Anna Cate Witherle, whom 
I have the honor to present to you." Miss Witherle 
read with clearness and grace the following lines : 

Baron Vincent de St. Castine ! 

The name rings out full stately and fair, 

But the Baron is no longer there, — 

Gone — with his beautiful Indian Queen, 

All the dusky Indians have tfitted and Hown 

And the pale face is left to rule alone, — 

But the name still lingers — Castine! — Castine! 

Sweetest of all sweet names I ween! 

And fair and stately indeed is she 

As she sits in her beauty beside the sea, 

And the sounding waves roll on — roll on. 

And a hundred years have come and gone, 

Bearing their burdens of want and of woe, 

Bearing souls out to the great unknown; 

Desolate wrecks over unknown seas. 

Where there's never a sail to catch the breeze, 

But broken spars and tangled ropes. 

Bearing downward our loves and hopes; 



48 CENTENNIAL OF CAS TINE. 

Drifting out o'er the stormy main 

Never to come into port again ; — 

May the good Lord help us for such as these! 

But June still lives with its skies of blue! 

The fields are full of daisies and clover, 

The birds are trilling the orchards through, 

And the lilacs are making the old world over; 

Ah — June is a rare and ancient lover! 

Look up — Sweetheart — for the world is true! 

We stand on the brink of a larger day. 

Where love shall guide us along the way, 

Where in worlds of science and realms of thought 

The evolution of truth is wrought ; 

And nature is holding her splendid sway. 

The past is gone, with its rhythm of beauty. 

Its jarring discords and notes of pain ; 

The future is dim as we look to greet it, 

But a hundred years will come again; 

And shoulder to shoulder we go to meet it, 

Strong in the good there is to gain, 

Strong to battle for right and truth. 

For the grand ideals and hopes of youth, 

For selfishness conquered and evil slain. 



Silently over the Bigwiduce 

Daybreak is coming in tints of pearl, — 

Flushing the river with roses' bloom, 

Making an opal out of the sea. 

Where the fisher boats their sails unfurl. 

Waking the world to a perfect dawn. 

Just as a hundred years agone. 

God still watches over thee, 

O beautiful town beside the sea ! 

Silently over the Camden hills 

The sun is setting in seas of gold ; 

Folding the tired land to sleep 

In a glory of colors manifold. 

Wrapping thee close in a golden sheen, 

God is watching: thee — loved Castine! 



THE DINNER. 49 

At the request of the President of the Day, the 
audience then stood up, and, led by the organ and a 
quartette, sung the grand old hymn, " America," with 
thrilling effect, the orchestra furnishing an obligate 
accompaniment as the volume of song rolled on. A 
benediction was then pronounced by the Rev. William 
Brunton, and while the assemblage dispersed, Mr. 
Ricker pla3ed a postlude on the organ, and the exer- 
cises were over. 



THE DINNER. 



'T*HERE was some confusion in the arrangements for 
dinner, owing to a rush of excursionists from other 
towns, the great warship in the harbor being one of 
the chief attractions of the day. The unmanageable 
number of these people interfered with the programme 
at the Acadian Hotel, where the dinner was served; 
the result was that the post-prandial exercises were 
practically suspended ; but the repast was an excellent 
one. The menu was as follows . 

MENU. 
Consomme Royal. Tomato aux Croutons. 



Queen Olives. Native Lettuce. Sliced Cucumbers. 



Boiled Penobscot River Salmon au Petit Pois. 

Pomme de Terre a la Parisienne. 



Baked Chicken Halibut, Maitre d'Hotel. 



Boiled Philadelphia Capon, Celery Sauce. 

Boiled Leg Southdown Mutton, Caper Sauce. 



50 CENTENNIAL OF CASTINE. 

Roast Young Turkey, Crab Apple Jelly. 

Roast Sirloin of Beef, Dish Gravy. 

Roast 1896 Spring Lamb, Mint or Brown Sauce. 



Baked Macaroni au Fromage. 

Pine Apple Fritters au Rhum. 

Fricassee of Chicken a la Printanier. 



Lobster Salad with Mayonnaise Dressing. 

Cabbage Salad, French Dressing. 



Cold Cincinnati Ham. Cold Ox Tongue. 



Halford Table Sauce. Shrewsbury Ketchup. Table Oil. 



Mashed Potatoes. Boiled Potatoes. Green Peas. 

String Beans. New Squash. New Beets. 



Strawberry Shortcake. 



Vanilla Ice Cream. Chocolate Ice Cream. 



Assorted Cake. Oranges. Bananas. 



Ice Chilled Watermelon. 



Tea. Coffee. Cocoa. Milk. 



INCIDENTS OF THE EVENING. 

'HpHE little town was crowded with visitors during tlie 
day, numerous excursions from points around 
Penobscot Baj^ and River bringing thousands to par- 
ticipate in the celebration; great numbers also arrived 
by land from adjacent towns. The incidents of the day 
passed off without accident, and in the evening the 
fireworks, the reception and the ball closed the long 



MESSAGES FROM ABROAD. 51 

programme. The fireworks were displayed from an 
enclosure on the sloping ground in front of old Fort 
George nearest to the town ; and the exhibition was a 
very brilliant and satisfactory one. The cruiser 
"Columbia" had fired a national salute in the middle 
of the da}^, and during the evening a powerful search- 
light was turned on from the ship, illuminating the 
water front and the town in the wonderful manner 
peculiar to these inventions. 

Two large yachts from the cruising squadron of the 
South Boston Yacht Club, the flagship "Thelma" and 
the schooner "Windward," under command of Vice 
Commodore W. D. Gowen and Rear Commodore E. H. 
Lansing, and Fleet Captain G. P. Field and Captain 
W. A. Ruddick, respectively, took an active part in 
the festivities. The yachtsmen burned a fine display 
of fireworks from a barge anchored in front of the 
town, adding to the enjo^nnent of the occasion. Many 
officers from the white cruiser and the yacht fleet 
attended the ball in the evening. 

The quiet night came down on a weary but happy 
people, satisfied with the fortunate celebration of the 
one hundredth anniversary of the incorporation of 
their town and sincerely glad that no disaster had 
marred the enjoyment of the long-looked-for birthday 
of Castine. 



MESSAGES FROM ABROAD. 

T)LEASANT messages came from the invited guests 
who were unable to be present, Senator W. P. Frye 
sending word that illness alone, which he regretted 
more than he could express, prevented him at the last 
moment from coming in response to the invitation 



52 CENTENNIAL OF CAS TINE. 

which he had already accepted. From far-off Monte- 
video came a letter from Commander Thomas Perry, of 
the United States Ship " Castine," saying that the 
writer and his brother officers on the vessel greatly 
deplored their unavoidable absence from the anniver- 
sary celebration of the town for which their ship is 
named. The}^ expressed their cordial and affectionate 
interest in all that would mark the day. 

LETTER FROM J. W. CASTINE, M. P. 

From South Australia came a letter from ]\Ir. J. W. 
Castine, M. P. This gentleman is believed to be a 
lineal descendant of the Baron de St. Castin, and his 
interest in all that relates to the ancient town that 
bears his familj^ name is naturall}^* very deep. His 
letter is as follows : 

"Glenburn," RivERTOisj, April 14, 1896. 
To Dr. G. A. W/ieekr, Chairman of the Centennial Committee of the 

totvn of Castine, Maine, U. S. A. : 

My Dear Sir : — It was indeed an agreeable surprise for me to 
receive your most kind letter, dated the 12th of December last. 

The cordial invitation it conveyed, viz., for me to be present and 
participate with you in the festivities connected with the celebration 
of the 261st year since the earliest settlement, and the centennial of 
the incorporation of the town that bears my name, sent a thrill of 
patriotism through my veins such as almost induced me to pack up 
my portmanteau and hasten across the sea to the ancient and 
adopted home of the once renowned and valiant nobleman, Jean 
Vincent de Saint Castine, from whom there is every reason to believe 
I am the solitary descendant. Believe me, my dear sir, it is not a 
small obstacle that prevents my accepting the invitation of your 
committee; as, if there could be any event in the history of any 
one's life more interesting than another, it certainly would be the 
fact of the dim memories of the past resuscitated and the lives and 
actions of one's forefathers being prominently recognized by a peo- 
ple living so many generations after. 



ArESSAG/:S FROM ABROAD. 53 

It is to me a sad disappointment that owing to the immense 
distance the British Isles are from here I am unable to search the 
national records in order to trace back the historical family line 
beyond what I obtain from our family Bible. I notice, however, the 
Bible was only printed in 1813, so the record has evidently been 
taken from some county register, probably that of Cornwall in the 
west of England. 

The following is the record: 

Daniel Castine, born Feb. 7, 1708. 

Robert Castine, a son, born Nov. 18, 1745. 

William Castine, a son, born Nov. 17, 1768. 

John Castine, my father, born April 19, 1808. 

John William Castine, only son, the writer, born May 27, 1846. 

Four stalwart sons and one daughter have been born to me; my 
eldest son is the only one at present married and a daughter is the 
issue of the marriage. 

The name of Castine, therefore, a generation ago almost extinct, 
is now likely to be perpetuated in the direct line for some genera- 
tions to come. If the above genealogy be correct, and I have no 
reason whatever to doubt it, then there remain, at the most, but two 
generations between the life of the Baron and that of Daniel Cas- 
tine, and I believe there would be little difficulty in discovering the 
missing link if one could search the official documents connected 
with the stirring times during the reign of Louis XIV of France 
and Charles II of England. I firmly believe that it was during this 
period that Anselm and Joseph Dabadis, the Baron's two sons, were 
taken to England and there domiciled, either by compulsion or choice. 

To the inhabitants of the town of Castine, through you, I desire 
to say that the traditions of the past, in connection with the family 
name, are being upheld by the descendants of the doughty Baron. 
He, a wanderer from the shores of France, became a sojourner in a 
distant land, wherein he lived for many years, helping to found and 
build up a mighty nation; and a monument to his valor and energy 
has evidently been raised in the pretty town on the Penobscot River 
now called Castine. 

The writer, with, 1 suppose, an imbued instinct and love for 
travel, exploration and adventure, after leaving his native home in 
the west of England, has for the past thirty-three years or more 
been striving to found and to build up an empire, not, of course, in 



54 CENTENNIAL OF CAS TINE. 

America, but in the sunny climes of the southern seas ; and young 
as this country is, even now might it be said of her, " She is a brill- 
iant gem in the diadem of the British nation." 

By a strange coincidence, and it is somewhat noteworthy, the 
government of this colony has thought fit to honor my public actions 
by declaring a large tract of country, measuring upwards of ten 
miles square, to be named after me. 

[With some general remarks concerning the probability of a 
grand federation of English-speaking people at some future time, 
and the vast possibilities of such a union, Mr. Castine continues:] 

How much would I give to have been able personally to convey 
these sentiments to the inhabitants of Castine and through them to 
the people of the L'nited States; and most certainly had it not been 
for important matters, over which I have no control, — I refer to the 
general elections for our lower house of parliament, — taking place 
within the next four weeks, and which, after having been returned 
to four successive previous parliaments, induces me again to enter 
the lists and contest, you would have thrust upon you the modern 
frame of "Old Castine." 

Your most cordial Invitation I shall treasure up, and my children, 
doubtless, will ever respect the town and its inhabitants that bears 
the family name. 

To the United States government I also owe a debt of gratitude 
in perpetuating that name. One of your men-of-war is called "Cas- 
tine," and it was a source of disappointment to me last year when 
that vessel was at Tamatave that she was unable to visit Australia, 
when I might have become acquainted with your representatives, 
her officers and crew. 

Of course, you are well acquainted with the doings and progress 
of our colony, with which, for many years, I have been so closely 
associated. Indeed, mine has been a busy commercial and political 
life here, but the old martial spirit asserts itself from time to time. 
For sixteen years I have had the privilege of holding a commission 
in Her Majesty's volunteer infantry forces, now holding the rank of 
major. My four sons also have served in the ranks. Some years 
ago when the ]:)ritish troops suffered rather severely in South Africa, 
your humble servant volunteered for service in that country. Already 
I am intimately associated with one of your states; some time ago 
the Most Worshipful Grand Lodge of the State of Nevada appointed 
3nd constituted me their official representative at the Grand Lodge 



THE DISPLAY OF ANTIQUITIES. 55 

of South Australia, — another fraternal tie between your mighty 
nation of over 60,000,000 and our rising and promising counterpart 
of 4,000,000. 

Animated by these fraternal feelings, my desire now is to be 
associated in some way or other with the old town of Castine and 
its inhabitants, so that the friendship that seems to have grown up 
between us may develop into affection and the link so long missing, 
associating the past with the present, may find a fitting place in the 
chain of historical associations. 

It appears there is a tradition that the Castine boys are born 
web-footed. I can hardly believe it! Might I ask, is the curfew 
bell still rung at g o'clock, and, if so, do you all put out the lights 
and then retire to peaceful slumber? Are all the elderly ladies still 
provided with footstoves when they attend church 1 

Naturally I shall anxiously look forward to the receipt of the 
particulars of your demonstration, and, if I am not encroaching too 
much upon your good nature, may I ask you to instruct your secre- 
tary to send me the interesting details. 

Once more regretting my inability to be present on or near the 
first of July next, and wishing the inhabitants of the town of Castine 
health, wealth and every possible happiness, I have the privilege to 
remain, my dear Dr. Wheeler, 

Yours most sincerely, 

John William Castine. 



THE DISPLAY OF ANTIQUITIES. 

'HpHE exhibition of antiques and relics was one of sur- 
passing interest and attracted throngs of visitors 
to the Normal School Building while it was open. In 
the following list of articles shown the names of the 
owners of the objects are printed in italics : 

OLD BOOKS, DOCUMENTS, ETC. 

"A System of Doctrines," 1793. Mrs. Willard Devereux. 
Family Bible of the Capt. John Perkins family, 1765. 
Family Bible of the Foster family, 1776. 



56 CENTENNIAL OF CAS TINE. 

An account of the trial of Seth Elliott for the murder of his son. 
Elliott was hanged in Fort George in 1824. Airs. G. W. Perkins. 

Catalogue of books in the Town Library, 1801. Mrs. G. W. 
Perkins. 

"Watts's Divine Songs," 1726. Mrs. WiUard Devereiix. 

"Exposition of the Assembly's Shorter Catechism," in 250 ser- 
mons delivered between 1658 and 1706. Mrs. F. ]V. Foster. 

"The New England Primer." Mrs. F\ IV. Foster. 

"The Christian Almanac" for 1825. Mrs. F. Jf\ Foster. 

An account of the trial of Ebenezer Ball for the murder of 
Captain Downs, 181 1. Ball was hanged in Fort George. Mrs. G. 
W. Perkins. 

"The New England Primer." Miss Liny Adams. 

"The National ^gis," Dec. 16, 1818, and July 9, 1806; "The 
Eastern American," published in Castine, Me., Nov. 19, 1828; 
"The Massachusetts Spy," published in Worcester, Mass., Sept. 26, 
1821. 

Bill of sale of a negro slave, dated Albany, N. Y., May 23, 1760. 
Mrs. Alfred Attains. 

Maps of the United States, 1818, 1823, 1828. Rev. J. P. Cushman. 

Hebrew Grammar, 1623. Bct.J. J'. Cushman. 

Greek Testament, 177 1; "The New England Primer," 1691. 
Rc7\ J. P. Cushman. 

Handbill advertisement of Edward Sharp, Bigwaduce, 1784. 
G. H. Witherle. 

Commission of Samuel Noyes as Ensign, March i, 18 10. G. H. 
IFither/e. 

License to Cunningham, Lime Burner, June 5, 1794. G. H. 
Witherle. 

Order from Rear Admiral E. W. Griffith, R. N., not to burn 
American shipping in the Bagaduce, Sept. 2, 1814. G. //. Witherle. 

Advertising handbill of steamboat from Boston to Eastport, Me., 
June 20, 1827. Geo. FI. Witherle. 

Copy of certificate of incorporation of town of Castine, Me., 
1796. Dr. G. A. Wheeler. 

Account of the capture of the ship "Hiram," 1801. Mrs. C.J. 
Whiting. 

Commission of Joshua Witherle, Captain of Artillery, signed by 
John Hancock and dated 1782. G. H. Witherle. 

Certificate of stock in Castine Bank, April i, 18 18. G. H. Witherle. 



THE DISPLAY OF ANTIQUITIES. 57 

Note of Castine Bank, April i, iSiS. G. H. Wifhcrlc. 

Clearance of schooner "Ranger," Jan. 3, 1795. G. H. W'itJierlc. 

Bank notes, as follows: Bank of Charleston, S. C, $5, 1794; 
^6, 1777; $8, 1776; Massachusetts Bay, ^3, 1780; Bank of New 
Jersey, 3 shillings, 1776; 20 shillings, same bank and date; i-6th of 
$1, U. S., 1776; Bank of South Carolina, $90, 1779, and $3, 1776. 
Geo. H. E/nc/son. 

HOUSEHOLD ARTICLES AND DRESS. 

Easy chair brought from England about 1670. Dr. G. A. Wlicclcr. 

Chair belonging to Mr. Holbrook, first settler on Holbrook's 
Island, Castine Harbor, about 250 years old. Mrs. C. F. Clarke. 

Chair formerly owned by the Joy family, brought to Castine 
(then Penobscot) in 1806 from " Llnion River." Capt. B. Dunbar. 

One of twelve chairs brought from England to York, Me., near 
the middle of the 17th century, by the Weare family, and brought to 
Castine (then Penobscot) 17 7-, being then the property of Phctbe 
Weare, wife of Capt. Joseph Perkins. Noah Brooks. 

Rocking-chair, has been in the Hatch family since 1790. Frank 
Hooper. 

Chair formerly belonging to Dr. William Crawford, and supposed 
to be about 175 years old. John AleLanghlin. 

The original Master's chair, of Hancock Lodge, F. & A. M., in 
use since 1794. Mrs. F. M. Hibbcrt. 

Rocking-chair, over 100 years old, formerly belonging to William 
Hutchings, of Penobscot, who lived to be i 00 years old. Airs. Jane 
Straw. 

Rocking-chair formerly belonging to Mrs. Lanpher, made before 
1696. Mrs. G. \]\ J'erki/is. 

Rocking-chair brought from York, Me., by Capt. John Perkins 
in 1764. Airs. Elisha Perkins. 

Chair formerly belonging to Mistress Anne Bradstreet, "The 
Tenth Muse"; made in England, probably near the close of the 
17 th century. Miss C. O. Stearns. 

Chair formerly belonging to Joshua Hooper, 1 789. Frank Hooper. 

Welsh plate, 150 years old; another of English make, 100 years 
old. Airs. Flizabeth Bridges. 

Table used by the paymaster of the British troops, who was 
quartered with the Lawrence family, during the war of 18 12. Airs. 
C. F. Clarke. 



58 CENTENNIAL OE CASTINE. 

Table from the John Perkins mansion, 1781. Writing desk of 
Capt. Perkins ; been in possession of the family since 1767. Mrs. 
Elisha Perkins. 

Piano formerly owned by Gen. Alexander Macomb, who defeated 
the British at the battle of Plattsburgh, September, 18 14. Capt. 
Rowland Brinvn. 

Baby clothes made for Mrs. Lydia A. Greene, daughter of Jona- 
than and Nancy Perkins, born Dec. 10, 1825. Mrs. F. IF. Foster. 

Two pewter platters used by the British while in occupation of 
Castine (then Penobscot) during the Revolution. John F. Rea. 

Chest owned by Mark Hatch, one of the early residents of 
Penobscot (now Castine), when the British took possession. Filled 
with valuables, the chest was carried to the coast of New Jersey and 
buried; was brought back when the family returned in 1785. Capt. 
Jerry Hatch. 

Bed-spread, part of the wedding outiit of Mrs. Jonathan Hatch, 
married in 1824. Mrs, F. J J'. Poster. 

Towel spun and wove by hand, 75 years ago. 3frs. p] JF. Foster. 

Table belonging to the first generation of Stockley, an heirloom 
of the Stockbridge family, 150 years old. F S. P\-rkins. 

Fire tongs formerly belonging to William Hutchings, the cente- 
narian, of Penobscot. Joh?i F. Rea. 

Pestle and mortar brought from York, Me., by the Joseph Per- 
kins family, previous to the Revolution. John F. Rea. 

Tin kitchen or roaster, 100 years old; tin bread-baker, 50 years 
old, and frying-pan, 100 years old. Robert Dyer. 

Frying-pan over 100 years old, formerly property of Dr. J. L. 
Stevens. 

Fire tongs, have been in the Avery family since 1775. 

Candle-moulds used in 1800. Mrs. Pjteretia IFebster. 

Lantern, too years old. Jonas Dirner. 

Knife-box of the Avery family, made in 17 12. 

Wafifle-iron left in the Hale house by the British, 18 14. T. E. PPale. 

Ancient foot-stove. John F. Rea. 

Door-lock from the old Jarvis house. John F. Rea. 

Hall clock of the Johnston family. Danie/ Johnston. 

Mortar used for pounding corn. A. J. Mograge. 

Pitchfork used by Dea. David Wilson, 1788. /;. IF. JFebster. 

Warming-pan from the Peletiah Leach family, 1775. Capt. Piennett. 

Old card-table from the Jarvis estate. 



THE DISPLAY OF AN7V0 CITIES. 59 

Willow-pattern platter, 1775; also teapot, formerly belonging to 
Deputy-Governor Thomas Dudley, of Massachusetts, who was in 
office from 1634 to 1650. T/ios. E. Hale. 

Mug and pitcher, Liverpool ware, made for Clapt. David Dunbar, 
of Penobscot ; now owned by Capt. DaTiI Dunbar, Castine. 

Pewter porringer and plate, 125 years old. Dr. E. E. Fhilbrook. 

Tray, decanter and wine-glasses, before 1790. Mrs. Lucretia 
Webster. 

Miniature trunk in which money and jewelry belonging to Mrs. 
Lucy P. Whitney were locked and hidden in a drain during the Brit- 
ish occupation of Castine (then Penobscot), in the war of 1812. 
Mrs. PJuvbe Whiting. 

China plate, 100 years old. Dr. E. E. Fhilbrook. 

Ball dress of pink silk, 150 years old, worn by Miss Hannah 
Orcutt. Mrs. G. W. Perkins. 

Platter, with brown center and blue edge, 80 years old. Airs. 

D. P. Colson. 

Piece of the wedding dress of the great-grandmother of Dr. G. 
A. Wheeler.1 1670. 

Mug, over 100 years old. Dr. E. E. Philbrook. 

Pickle leaf, Davenport ware, date unknown, formerly belonging 
to Mrs. Margaret Perkins Brooks. Noah Brooks. 

Decanter formerly belonging to Capt. Joseph Perkins; date 
somewhere before 1790. Noah Brooks. 

Sugar-bowl, cup and saucer, formerly belonging to Margaret 
Perkins Brooks, 1808. Noah Brooks. 

Sampler worked in iSii by the mother of F. W. Foster. Mrs. 

E. IF. Foster. 

Fan, 200 years old. Airs. Joel Perkins. 

Sampler worked in 1698 by Elisabeth Cotton. Airs. Joel Perkins. 

Mug formerly belonging to Dr. Jotham Moulton. Aliss Lucy 
Adams. 

Dish and platter, willow ware, known to be 125 years old. Airs. 
E P. Lezc'is. 

China pitcher, between 90 and 100 years old. Aliss Ida Crawford. 

Bread-basket, 1776. Airs. J. W. Dresser. 

Cup, saucer and plate, over 100 years old. Aliss Alary Jackson. 

Japanned tray, over 100 years old. Dr. E. E. J'hilbrook. 

China teapot, over 100 years old. Airs. Bartravi. 

Green silk calash, worn 65 years ago. Miss Afary Dyer. 



60 CENTENNIAL OF CAS TINE. 

Blue Staffordshire platter, age unknown. Afrs. Philip Hooke. 

Decanter, 1760. Airs. L. M. Perkins. 

Yellow teapot, over 100 years old. Aliss Clara Steariis. 

Decanter belonging to the Straw family, 84 years old. Airs. 
Jane Straw. 

Two pitchers, Liverpool ware, marked severally "M. W." and 
"D. W.," made for David Wilson and Miriam Wilson, on the order 
of their son, Capt. Benjamin Wilson. David ]ViIso/i Webster and 
Airs. F. W. Foster. 

Pewter pitcher and teapot, known to have been in use in 1775, 
in the family of the late Mark P. Hatch. 

Worked pocket formerly used by the Hatch family. 

Pitcher, 100 years old. Mrs. G. W. Perkins. 

Crockery soup-tureen given (filled with tea) to Mrs. Samuel 
Noyes by a British officer at the evacuation of Castine (then Penob- 
scot), in 18 16. Airs. Samuel T. Noyes. 

Cup and saucer, formerly belonging to the family of Capt. David 
Dunbar, between 90 and 100 years old. Mrs. Lucy J. Thomas. 

Tidy of netted work, 125 years old. Dr. G. A. Wheeler. 

Young lady's needle-book and wallet, with small mirror, supposed 
to be over 100 years old. The Whitney Family, Castine. 

Pitcher formerly belonging to the grandfather of John F. Rea, 
and marked with his name, over 100 years old. John F. Rea. 

Liverpool pitcher marked "Benjamin and Jane Williams." 

Linen table-cloth used by Washington at Lansingburgh, N. Y., 
during the Revolution. Mrs. A. F. Adams. 

Ivory thread-spool used when the spooling of thread was first 
introduced. Airs. G. W. Perkins. 

Door-knocker from the old Mann house of pre-Revolutionary 
times. John F. Rea. 

Ancient washing-machine. G. H. Wifherle. 

House fire-bucket, 182 1. Airs. S. T. A'oyes. 

Pair of wool-cards, 100 years old. Hudson Devereux. 

Work basket, 100 years old. Mrs. G. W. Perki)is. 

Mirror brought to Castine about 1770 by Capt. John Perkins. 
G. H. Witherle. 

Candlestick, 150 years old. AI. P. Hatch Family. 

Pin cushion, over 100 years old. Aliss Clara Stearns. 

Sampler worked by the mother of Mrs. Willard Devereux at the 
age of 9. 



THE DISPLAY OF ANTIQUITIES. 61 

Pewter spoon and dish. Jolui F. Rea. 

Dish, loo years old; spectacles, 80 years old. Mrs. N. P. Noyes. 

Silver spoon made in Castine (then Penobscot) in 1808. G. IF. 
Pet-kiiis. 

Silver spoon made between 1746 and 1760. Dr. G. A. Wheeler. 

Silver porringer belonging to the Whitney family, over 100 years 
old. Mrs. S. K. Whiting. 

Baby's cap, 75 years old. G. W. Perkins. 

Sampler worked by the wife of President Day, Yale College, 1799. 

Two ancient mirrors. Hudson Devereux and Mrs. J. N'. Gardner. 

OLD COINS. 

One of the silver "pieces of eight" found on the Grindle place, 
and known as "the Castine coins," dated 1667. A'oah Brooks. 

Pine-tree shilling, 1632, and oak-tree twopence. G. H. Emerson. 

Copper cents of 18 12. F. S. Perkins. 

Demi Louis d' or (gold), 1642; found near the old French fort. 
G. H. Witherle. 

PORTRAITS AND PICTURES. 

Painting of Twinklebury Castle, by Mary Ann Cockayne, Gib- 
raltar, 18 1 4, given to Richard Hawes, Castine. Dr. G. A. Wheeler. 

Oil painting of ship Robert Morris coming into the port of 
Havre in 1833. Mrs. L. M. Perkins. 

Portrait of Mrs. Hannah Avery. The Avery Fanii/y. 

Picture, " Emblem of Africa," bought by Capt. John Perkins, 
1797. Mark Devereux. 

Six colored engravings, "Wanderings of the Prodigal Son," 
dated July 2, 1797. G. W. Perkins. 

Steel-engraved likeness of John Holmes, Representative in Con- 
gress from the District of Maine, 18 19, and subsequently Senator 
from Maine. Noah Brooks. 

Oil painting of ship Canova, built in Frankfort, Me., 1823. G. 
H. Witherle. 

Photographs of the Castine family now living in Australia. Dr. 
Geo. A. Wheeler. 

Portrait of Capt. John Perkins, one of the earliest residents of 
Penobscot, now Castine. Mrs. Elisha Perkins. 

Portrait of John Perkins, born 1777. G. W. Perkins. 

Portrait of Stover Perkins, born 1781. G. W. Perkins. 



02 CENTENNIAL OF CASTINE. 

Portrait of Robert Perkins. Daniel Joluiston. 

I^ortrait of Mrs. Robert Perkins and infant Lucy. Daniel Johnston. 

Portrait of Major Otis Little and his wife, Dorothy Perkins 
Little. Mrs. Lucy Wallace. 

Portrait of Miss Betsey Avery, 1793, 1863. Mrs. Echnund Abbott. 

Portrait of Mrs. Hannah Avery, who came to Penobscot, now 
Castine, 1783. Mrs. Edmund Al^bott. 

Portrait of Mark P. Hatch and wife. The Hatch Heirs. 

Portrait of Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Adams. The Adains Heirs. 

Portrait of Thomas E. Hale, with sword-cut made in the canvas 
by an English officer in 18 14. Thos. E. Hale., Sr. 

Portrait of Josiah Hooke, 1744, 1S29. F. A. Hooke. 

Engraved likeness of Col. William Henshaw, commissioned Adju- 
tant-General of Massachusetts forces, 1775. Dr. Geo. A. Wheeler. 

Engraved likeness of Sir John Moore, framed in oak from the 
British transport St. Helena. G. H. Withcrle. 

Colored engraving of "La Famille Imperiale,"' printed in Paris, 
1808. N'oah Brooks. 

Engraving of the town of Castine in 1843. ^- ^- Witherle. 

Silhouette likenesses of Mr. and Mrs. Edward Lawrence, made 
90 years ago. Mrs. G. W. Perkins. 

Engraved likeness (ideal) of the Baron de St. Castin, framed in 
wood from palisade of the Baron's fort. W. H. Hooper. 

MILITARY RELICS. 

Sword used at the battle of Bunker Hill. G. A. Wheeler. 

Canteen used in the Revolutionary War by Samuel Chamberlain, 
of Vermont. W. H Lawrence. 

Officer's dress sword, war of 18 12. Rev. J. P. Ciishman. 

Cannon balls from old French fort, Castine. G. H. Witherle, 
G. A. Wheeler and John F. Pea. 

Cannon ball, two grapeshot and piece of shell plowed up in the 
vicinity of Fort George, Castine. Mrs. A. J. JlLograge. 

Flag presented to the Hancock Cadets, or " Fairport Nine," 
1840. Noah Brooks. 

Old colored engravings, "Comforts of hidustry" and "Miseries 
of Idleness." Mrs. Ellen Perkijis. 

Old picture of the boy "Harry" (Capt. Henry Whitney), on the 
ship Hiram, taken by the French in iSoo. Mrs. C.J. Whiting. 

Hinges from the powder magazine in Fort George, 1779. G. H 
Witherle. 



THE DISPLAY OF ANTIQUITIES. 63 

Musket used in the Revolutionary War. F. Grindlc. 

Cannon ball fired by the British while pursuing the American 
fleet up the Penobscot River, 1779; the missile struck a dwelling- 
house, passing in at one side and coming out at the other. Jolin F. Rea. 

Knapsack carried by color sergeant J. H. Noyes in the Aroos- 
took War. Mrs. S. T. Noyes. 

Uniform button of Scotch dragoons, Revolutionary War. Curtis 
St 67' a IS. 

Dress chapeau of U. S. naval officer, 1S12. Rev. J. P. Cushvian. 

Grapeshot, Revolutionary War. Geo. Devereiix. 

MISCELLANEOUS. 

Unique collection of horse-shoes. John F. Rea. 

Cane made from a palisade of old Fort Pentagoet by S. T. Noyes. 

Pewter communion service of the First Congregational Church, 
Castine (then Penobscot), 1796. Mrs. S. K. Whiting. 

Hand-cuffs and leg-irons used in 1779 in the conveyance of pris- 
oners on the northern frontiers of the United States. Jolin F. Rea. 

Hames used in 1796. The Avery Heirs. 

Ancient sun-dial. John F. Rea. 

The original charter of Hancock Lodge, F. and A. M., No. 4, 1794. 

Bass viol, 1782. Josiah Hooke. 

The Tyler's sword, Hancock Lodge, F. and A. M., No. 4, 1794. 

Jewels of same, used since 1794. 

Autograph book. /. P. Cushvian. 

Silver brooch belonging to Capt. Joseph Perkins, dates before 
the Revolutionary War. Noah Brooks. 
^ Stock-buckle, Scotch make, 1776. Mrs. Nellie Hawes. 

Watch left in Castine by the British at the evacuation, 18 15. 
W. H. Sargent. 

Pocket-book given in 1789 by Capt. Jack Lowder to his betrothed 
bride, Polly (Mary) Joy, of Union River, now Ellsworth. Mary Joy 
Dunbar. 

Cane of Ebenezer Fitts, first bell-ringer of Castine. 

Several canes made from the timbers of the British transport St. 
Helena, wrecked in Castine Harbor, 1779. 

The Austin coat-of-arms, brought from England in 1792. G. H. 
Witherle. 

Indian stone gouge, found in Castine. 

Ancient French pipe. Dr. G. A. Wheeler. 

Ancient snuff-box. Dr. G. A. Wheeler. 



64 CENTENNIAL OF CAS TINE. 

INCORPORATION OF THE TOWN. 

npHE petition of the inhabitants of that part of 
Penobscot which was subsequently called Castine, 
praying for a separate incorporation, was presented to 
the General Court of Massachusetts, June, 1795, the 
District of Maine being at that time a part of the State 
of Massachusetts. At the time of the presentation of 
the petition, the name of the proposed town had not 
been detei mined upon; there is no record of the name 
of the person who suggested the fortunate title subse- 
quently given to the town, or of the date of filling the 
blank left in the petition for the name — Castine. The 
act of incorporation was not passed until the month of 
February next succeeding the presenting of the peti- 
tion. Following is an attested copy of the petition, now 
on file in the archives of the State of Massachusetts: 

To the Hon''''' Senate & Hon'''*' House of Representatives of the 
Commonwealth of Massachusetts in General Court Assembled- 

June 1795- 

The subscribers Inhabitants of the Southern Part of the Town 
of Penobscot in the County of Hancock Humbly shew- 
That the said Town is in Extent from the southern to the North- 
ern end Eighteen Miles and 240- Rods that it is so Intersected 
with Water and the settlements in it are so scattered as to render it 
Extremely Inconvenient to the people to Conduct Town business 
under their present Circumstances- That the difficulty of fixing one 
Place of Publick Worship is so great as to make an agreement 
among the Inhabitants a thing hardly to be expected- And that 
the Natural situation of the Town, its great Extent and the Inter- 
fering Interests of the Various parts are such as to Create uneasi- 
ness and dissentions; in Consequence of which all Publick spirit 
seems to decay and all those Institutions and Establishments which 
Promote the Harmony and good Order of Society are in great 
Measure Neglected- 

That this spirit is not peculiar to the People of this Town, but 
Naturally and Necessarily flows from the situation and form of the 



INCORPORATION OF THE TOWN. 65 

Town, so that we see no probability of our difficulties being removed 
but by a Division of the Town into two. A measure which we think 
would be equally benificial to both Parts as each then would get Rid 
of the Inconveniences which at present impede and obstruct the 
Only Measures which can give Importance to either part- Your 
Petitioners further shew that the said Town is large enough to bear 
a Division, that it is increasing fast in Inhabitants and that they 
trust and believe that the measures now prayed for will Promote the 
Interest and advantage of all the Inhabitants of the Town as well 
as your Petitioners- They therefore Pray that that Part of the 
Town of Penobscot which they Inhabit contained within the follow- 
ing boundaries may be Incorperated into a separate & distinct town 

by the name of Begining at the Water side at the Boundary 

line between John Condens and John Wassens thence Running south 
78 f degrees East Course to the line that divides Penobscot from 
Sedgwick thence southwestwardly adjoining said Sedgwick to Burks 
Harbour on Penobscot Bay so called thence round Cape Roseway on 
said Bay Including Spectacle and Holbrook Isleand to the south- 
western Extremity of the Peninsula of Penobscot thence on Penobscot 
River to the North western Corner of Andrew Steels land thence on 
the Northern side of said Steels land to the Northeast Corner of the 
same thence southwest about Eighty Rods thence on the Northeast 
line of land lately possessed by William Wescott Deceased to Major- 
bagw'aduce River so Called thence across the said River or Harbours 
to the bound first mentioned- and together with all the Islands 
within said lines, and as in duty, bound shall ever pray Penobscot 
23 May 1795. 

Mark Hatch with 87 others Benj.-" Howard 

Joseph Perkins Edward Howard Juner 

Richard Hunewell Mark Hatch Jur 

Jos'^ Woodman Stover Perkins 

Geo. Halliburton John Bray 

Michel Day henery Bray 

Benj'' Courtney John Bray Juner 

Daniel Moor Caleb Bray 

Jere.miah L'pham Josiah p. Woodbury 

Avery Little William Preston 

Tho'* Stevens Samuel Smith 

W" Reidhead Elisha Dyer 



66 



CENTENNIAL OF CAS TINE. 



FRANCIS E. BaKMAN 

John Bakman 
John Lee 
David Willson 
Andrew Steel 
Sam'' a. Whitney 
Samuel Whitney 
George Whitney 
William Whitney 
Battry M. Powars 
Eben." Frye 
Samuel Nicholls 
John Perkins 
Doty Little 
HoLBROOK Martin 
James Douglass 
Neall Mc cancy 
Jon Holbrook 
Samuel Woodman 
Abel Hosmer 
Ebenezer Leland 
J (^NATHAN Foster 
Richard Condon 
Daniel Costin 
Malchi Orcutt 
Jacob Orcutt Jun" 
Edward Howard 
Smith Woodward 
Timothy Condon 

his 

Elisha X Hopkens 

mark 

Luther Marble 



Moses Gay 
Barnabas Higgins 
Oliver Parker 
Rich" Jackson 
SiLVANUs Bangs 
Ephraim Cook 
Samuel Rogers 
Tho^ Phillips 
Dan'' Johnston 
Benj Milliken 
Jacob L. Morgan 
Rogers Lawrence 
Andrew Webster 
Andrew W. Blake 
W" Turner 
William Robinson 
John Bakman Jnr 
Micakel Dyer 
John Coffen jur 
Benjamin Redman 
Reuben Mayo 
William Moor 
Thomas Corsen 
John Corsen 
Benjamin Howard jun 
Daniel Blake 
James Crawford 
David Howe 
Josiah Crawford 
Hutison Bishop 
James Scott 
John Collings 



In the House of Representatives, June 6, 1795. 

Read and committed to the stand- Comm"' on Incorporations 
of towns. 

Sent up for Concurrence. 

Edward H. Rohbins, Spk^ 
UofC 



INCORPORATION OF THE TOWN. 67 

In Senate, June 8, 1795. 
Read and concurred. 

Sam*- Phillips, Presdt. 



Commonwealth of Massachusetts, 

Office of the Secretary, 

Boston, May 23, i8g6. 
A true copy. 

' — ■ — ' ^ Witness the Seal of the Commonwealth. 

seal. - (Signed) Wm, M. Olin, 

^ — ^—^ Secretary, 



23 1900 



